


Once Upon a Teashop

by anaer



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ba Sing Se, Bickering, Character Development, Comedy, Crack, Humor, Love Triangles, M/M, Multi, Romantic Comedy, Stalking, Tea, bad decision making, but still a comedy i promise, slowly getting more serious, teashop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-02-13
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2017-10-31 03:23:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 76,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/339327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anaer/pseuds/anaer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jet's a stalker, Sokka's suspicious, and Zuko just wants to make it through the day without murdering anyone. Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Beautiful Day in Ba Sing Se

It was a beautiful day in Ba Sing Se. The sun was shining, birds chirping, and people pleasantly bustled back and forth in the busy marketplace. Even the Dai Li were surprisingly cheerful, as no one was thinking about the war on such a wonderful day, so no mysterious kidnapping-brainwashes had to occur. Overall, everyone was in a stupendous mood, content to enjoy one of the rare relaxing days the humongous earth kingdom city had to offer. Everyone except three teenage boys, that was.

The first of these unhappy, ungrateful of the wondrous day young men went by the name of Sokka. The hapless boy was a companion of the Avatar, and had been stuck in this barren, earth-filled city for ages. The fact that he wasn’t allowed to talk about the war or was constantly tailed by Dai Li agents or Joo Dee did nothing to help his rapidly deteriorating mood. And then there was the fact that Aang was still constantly moping on about “Appa this” and “Appa that”. It was nerve grating, and generally the tawny-skinned water tribesman was a pretty easygoing guy. However, there came a point in life where everyone reached their limit. The sarcasm-meat-boomerang-and-plan guy of the Avatar’s little team was quickly approaching that point. Even walking around the bustling marketplace and basking in its happiness and cheer did nothing to uplift his mood.

Of course, it didn’t help that he’d just been kicked out of a poetry class because his last line of haiku had had one too many syllables.

“I mean, come on!” he exclaimed to himself. “One syllable. One! They could’ve been like, ‘Hey, Sokka, why don’t you give it another try? After all, your other poems have all been amazingly wonderful!’ But do they? Nooooo. One slip up! Stupid, inconsiderate, witchy, overbearing…” the dark-skinned boy trailed off into an incomprehensible mumble, continuing to bump into people as he made his way through the crowd. So upset was he that he completely ignored the market stalls lining either side of the street that would’ve led to his favourite activity: shopping. After all, those girls had been _pretty_. Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe _liked_ pretty things.

“Young man! Hey, young man!” a voice called from a stall selling assorted trinkets and jewellery caught the boy’s attention. “Yes, you!” the merchant affirmed when he saw that he had the kid’s attention. “Can I interest you in a pretty bauble?” The older man held up a complicated...something that was _beautiful_. But he had promised his sister he wouldn’t buy anymore useless, stupid stuff, so it would be best if he made sure this ‘bauble’ was something useful less Katara decide to drown him or something.

“What’s a bauble?” the blue-clad boy asked, meandering over to the money-hungry vendor. Curiosity sparkled in his luminous blue eyes.

“Oh, a bauble is a tremendous thing of...uh...high importance! Very rare in the world, they are. Very good for any pretty ladies you might have,” the grey-haired merchant added with a slight wink.

Sokka sighed, running a hand through his bound hair. The only pretty ladies he had were the moon and a deadly warrior who would either kill him over something so girly or love him forever. Could they even be considered his ladies, though? Yue was a spirit now, after all, and Suki had deemed her fellow Kyoshi warriors more important than he was, so... Crossing his arms over his chest, the boomerang guy stared at the bauble forlornly.

“I don’t have any ladies...” he muttered, digging his toe into the dirt.

The merchant was suddenly moved with pity for the put-upon young man in front of him. After all, he seemed pretty pathetic standing there looking as if he’d just been betrothed to the princess of the fire nation while the bubbly crowd floated past with not a care in the world. Remembering what it had been like to be that age so many years ago, the salesman knew just what the boy needed to cheer up.

“Aww, don’t look so down, kid,” he protested, swinging a heavy arm around the lithe teen’s shoulders. “You know what will cheer you up? A nice cup of tea. And I know just the place! It’s called the Jasmine Dragon, and it’s a few streets over from here in the restaurant part of the ring. The owner, Mushi, makes the best cup of tea this side of the world! It’s bound to cheer any poor soul. Doesn’t seem to have worked for that moody nephew of his, though...” the merchant trailed off, a slightly contemplative look on his face as he stroked his grey beard. “But trust me, boy,” he perked up after a few moments, “even if that grouchy schmuck does end up serving you, that tea will cheer you up so much you’ll be able to completely ignore that rude attitude. Trust good ol’ Aadi on this. I wouldn’t steer such a pathetic looking young man wrong.” And then the vendor was off, enticing the next unsuspecting victim into his lair of merchandise.

“Hey!” Sokka protested after a second. He’d been so busy contemplating the information that he hadn’t realized he’d been insulted. But now he just felt even more put-upon than before. “Well, if the tea’s really that good...Ah, what the hell.”

And so the boy ambled off into the crowds, heading straight into the heart of the restaurant district to the best tea shop in the entire Earth Kingdom, if not the entire world. The Jasmine Dragon.

The merchant had given Sokka surprisingly good instructions, so he found the place with little problems. Of course, the enticing smell of tea had certainly helped, as well as the stream of people coming from the direction talking about “that wonderful tea!” and “that nice old man Mushi”, or—in the case of the younger women—“that waiter is grumpy, but he’s hot!”, and so here the dark-haired teen found himself seated at a table next to the wall, waiting to be served. Five minutes of fruitless patience made the tribesman almost get up and leave, but the teashop just smelt so pleasant and fruity that he couldn’t bring himself to tear himself from the good feelings just yet. He closed his eyes and just flowed where the scents took him, from the top of the Northern Air Temple to the Cave of Two Lovers. He even felt some of the Temple of the Fire Sages thrown in the air. This place brought back such fond memories of near-death experiences. The only thing missing was—

“What can I get— _you_?!” the sharp, annoyed, and most of all familiar voice cut into Sokka’s musings. Jumping, the water nation teen’s bright blue eyes snapped open to come face to face with the shocked gold ones of Zuko.

Zuko. Banished Prince of the Fire Nation. Current teashop assistant going by the name ‘Li’. The second of three boys in the city that weren’t enjoying this pleasant day. Of course, there was also the fact that there were very few things that could currently make this moody firebender cheer up, and most of those things were either impossible or next to impossible (like seeing his sister get her ass handed to her, or his father deciding that Zuko was the best son ever and should never, _ever_ have been banished and deserved a great big hug! ...Okay, so maybe the hug was pushing it a little, but the point still stands). So considering that depression was the black-haired boy’s usual state of mind, it was no surprise to anyone that he wouldn’t enjoy such a glorious afternoon.

Of course, Zuko’s day plummeted from its usual level of gloom to ‘the world is out to get me’ gloom (which, admittedly, wasn’t that large of a difference) when he came face to face with the boomerang buffoon from the Avatar’s gang. While wearing an apron and offering to serve him tea. The exiled prince had every certainty in his mind that if he didn’t do something fast, this idiot whose name escaped him at the moment would do something to mess up he and his uncle’s precarious refugee status. So, putting his best blasé, indifferent look on his face, the teashop assistant returned to his duty with gritted teeth.

“What type of _tea_ would you like?” the light-skinned teen ground out. He crossed his arms and glared at the currently petrified younger boy.

“Tea?” the somewhat slow tribesman yelped. “Right! Tea!” He picked up his menu and pretended to glance over it for a few moments before he dropped it with a ‘thump’ and stood up. “Well, you know, there are just so many different types that look so good, I just can’t decide! So I guess I’ll just be going—!”

Zuko grabbed Sokka’s arm before he could make a speedy exit. A fake semi-pleasant look was plastered on the permanent grouch’s face. “You’ll have the house blend,” he growled around the fake smile. “And since you seem to like tea _so much_ , I’m sure you’d _love_ to meet my uncle. In the kitchen. _Now_.”

A nervous laugh bubbled out of Sokka’s throat as he glanced around the medium-sized, completely full shop. About half the customers were watching their little scene, most with either hidden or outright amusement at “Mushi’s crazy nephew”. There was definitely no escaping, but the blue-clad boy took comfort in the fact that Zuko probably wouldn’t kill him when there were so many potential witnesses near, especially the two Dai Li agents hidden in the corner sipping at their tea. He hoped.

The fire nation prince manhandled his pseudo-enemy into the back, where the quaint old teashop owner stood brewing new tea.

“Uncle,” he announced himself, giving the brown-haired boy a slight shove once the door had been shut behind him.

Iroh turned around and took in the scene before him. The young water tribesman stood there chewing on his lip and shifting from foot to foot. His pissed-off looking nephew blocked the door, glaring harshly at the unlucky companion of the Avatar.

“Oh, hello, young man!” the former general addressed Sokka cheerfully as he turned back to his pot. “Would you like a cup of tea?” He continued to stir his brew with one hand as he waved his other hand through the steam to relish the smell of perfectly prepared hot tea.

Sokka opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by an annoyed response.

“Does he want a cup of—?! Uncle! Don’t you know who this is?” Zuko couldn’t say he was shocked at Iroh’s response. After all, he’d been travelling with his eccentric relative for over three years. Some things you just learned to accept at face value.

That didn’t mean the fire prince wasn’t fuming at his uncle’s seeming indifference, though.

“Oh, yes. That’s the nice young man who travels with the Avatar! How have you and your friends been? Especially that nice young lady—Toph, was it? You know, she and I had a really interesting conversation when I offered her some tea once. ”

“Yeah, Toph’s, uh...good...I guess. But I want to know—!”

“Exactly!” Zuko cut Sokka off again. “He _travels with the Avatar_.”

“Nephew,” Iroh replied lightly, still intent on fixing his tea, “I’m sure this lovely young man just wants some tea, right?”

“Uh...yeah! Tea! That’s all I want. It’s not like I’m going to go back to Aang and tell him about this or tell the earth king that _Fire Nation_ have _invaded_ Ba Sing Se! Or anything.” Sokka nodded his head as if to emphasize his statement and turned around to meet the glaring face of the exiled prince.

“You’re not telling anyone about this!” Zuko hissed, folding his arms. “All we’re trying to do is hide out peacefully in Ba Sing Se because my crazy sister is trying to kill me—”

“Your sister _is_ crazy.”

“—and not get caught which could, hey, I don’t know, get us _killed_! Do we really _look_ like we’re out to hurt someone right now? I mean, we’re running a _teashop_! A freaking _teashop_! We are serving people _tea_! Do you understand that? Do you think this is all for fun? That one day I decided, ‘Hey, Uncle, let’s go live in Ba Sing Se for a while and serve tea!’ Of course not! And I don’t have time to worry about you going around telling people about this between my sister _trying to kill me_ , hiding out in the middle of enemy territory, and being _forced_ to deal with—”

“Oi! Li!” A loud, rambunctious voice called from outside of the kitchen.

“— _Him_ ,” the unlucky teen finished forlornly, smacking his forehead.

“Oh, don’t worry, nephew.” Iroh smiled at his nephew, wiping his hands on his apron as he moved to the door. “I will talk to your friend for you. What was his name again? Jet? Oh, that’s right! He’s such a helpful young man!” the retired general muttered to himself as he exited.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Sokka exclaimed. “Jet? Smooth-talking, hook-sword wielding, wheat-chewing Jet? Freedom fighter, hates the fire nation? _That_ Jet?”

Zuko looked out from under his hand. “Why, you know him?”

The water tribesman scoffed. “Of course I know him, he’s my sister’s ex. How do you know him?”

“We met on the boat into Ba Sing Se, and, damn it! The guy’s _obsessed_. He won’t stop stalking me!”

“Yeah, like you’re one to talk about obsession or stalking.”

“First of all, I had (and still have) a reason for hunting the Avatar. Second of all, it’s not like I spied on any of you bathing _naked_ or broke into your campsite to _sniff_ your _clothes_!”

Silence for a second, and then, “...Wait, you didn’t do any of those things, right?”

“NO!”

While the two unhappy teens stood in the kitchen talking, the third and final unhappy boy stood out front, trying to wait to see the current object of his affection. Jet would normally have been happy and enjoying such a pleasant day that had been bequeathed upon the earth kingdom, but today wasn’t like most other days. For weeks, the poor young Freedom Fighter had been trying to catch the attention of the teashop waiter who he’d met on the boat into the city, but Li just ignored him...or tried to kill him, it really depended on the shorter boy’s mood. Even when Mushi had gotten his own teashop and his nephew had moved to the upper ring with his uncle, Jet had still found a way to sneak into the upper ring to stalk/spy on/see Li every day. Today was day fifty-three in his endeavours, and so far, everything was going the same. He stood outside of the teahouse, waiting for the object of his desire to make his way out to try and stop Jet from causing a scene (as he was prone to do—everyday). Instead, though, out came Mushi.

“Good Afternoon, Jet,” the old man greeted with a pleasant smile. “It is a pleasure to see you today as every day. However, I must ask that you refrain from shouting out to my nephew whenever you get here. It’s bad for business, you know, but if you really need to see Li today, he’s in the kitchen with a friend. I could _definitely_ use some help with the dishes.”

Jet scratched his head and chewed on the wheat stalk sticking out of his mouth in thought. On one hand, he really didn’t feel like washing any dishes. On the other, it was condoned Li-stalking time. Putting on his fakest smile, the teen grinned. “Of course I’ll help!” he announced. “You know me. Always willing to help a nice old guy out with his dishes.” _For a sweet glimpse of your nephew’s ass,_ the dark-haired boy tacked on mentally, making his way into the teashop, past the patrons, through the door to the kitchen, and then—

“Hey, L—Sokka?!” Instead of being greeted by the wonderfully harsh glare of the moody waiter, Jet found himself meeting the not-so-great harsh glare of a very familiar blue-clad watertribesman. Li stood slightly behind him, completely ignoring the both of them as he scrubbed at filth-ridden dishes.

“Wonderful! You know each other already!” Mushi exclaimed, entering behind Jet. Suddenly, the old man was struck with a wonderful idea. A horrible idea. A wonderful, horrible idea. With a sly smile, he continued, “Sokka here is our newest employee. “

“Wait, I’m _what_?!” The blue-eyed boy complained. “I never agreed to that! I don’t even know how long I’m going to be in the city! I don’t even _want_ a job!” As usual, his protests were ignored.

Mostly.

“He doesn’t know how long he’ll be staying in the city, but he said that he could use the money on his travels.”

“I said no such thing!”

“Look,” Zuko quietly interrupted with a sigh, turning from his dishwashing, “Don’t bother arguing, he’ll just ignore you and then force you to do what he wants anyway. How do you think _I_ got stuck working here? Besides, if you’re here and we’re here, you’ll always know what we’re doing, now, won’t you?”

Sokka frowned, leaning back against the wall next to the sink. “Are you openly inviting me to stalk you? No wonder you’ve got such a problem with Jet. You’re practically asking for it.”

Zuko’s good eye twitched slightly, and the younger teen suddenly found it in his best interest to shut up lest he ended up fried and served as a snack.

“Sure, I’d definitely love to work here, too!” Jet’s loud, boisterous voice cut into Zuko’s intimidation.

The Fire Nation boy snapped to attention, focussing back on his uncle and stalker’s conversation. He could not have heard what he just thought he’d heard. No way.

“Isn’t it wonderful, nephew? Two new, hardworking employees, all in the same day!”

“Uncle!” he cried. “You can’t do this to me!”

“Stop talking nonsense, Li, this isn’t about you.”

As the two relatives continued to argue back and forth, Jet sidled up next to Sokka, smirking down at the younger, shorter water tribesman.

“So…” he began. “How’s Katara?”

Sokka punched him.


	2. One Big, Cosmic Joke

It was days like this that Sokka wondered when his life had turned into a big, cosmic joke. Actually, scratch that. He knew when it happened. It happened the day Katara was born, all cute big eyes and cool waterbending skills and innate ability to make her older brother look like an idiot. But during some point since he started this journey with Aang (this futile attempt to save the world), the spirits seemed to have started taking delight in torturing him, personally.   
  
Which is how Sokka found himself here. The Jasmine Dragon. Serving tea in an apron, with Zuko (prince of the spirits-damned _Fire Nation_ ) and Jet (…yeah, that same psycho Jet who tried to destroy a whole village). On the bright side, Iroh was pretty cool now that Sokka had taken the time to get to know him. And he paid well. If Sokka kept this up (and Aang didn’t go spending money they didn’t have on useless things like _whistles_ ) Team Avatar would probably have enough money to finish their quest and destroy the Fire Lord. Once they found Appa, of course.  
  
All in all, though, Sokka had to admit that the job wasn’t that bad. He’d been working here for all of five days, and it turned out that working in such a city-renowned teashop had great benefits. Namely, eye-candy. Like that girl with the braided pigtails who had come in every day since he started. From the scowl Zuko got on his face whenever the scarred teen noticed her, Sokka assumed she’d been coming in for even longer than his measly five days. So, in that way, life at the Jasmine Dragon was pretty damn good. Even Mr. Moody-Fire-Nation-Price wasn’t a problem as he tended to sit in the back room being emo too himself while brewing the tea (turns out he was grateful that Iroh had hired the extra help after all. He only ever needed to deal with people when the place got extremely packed—usually about two hours every day). No, the problem was a certain Freedom Fighter with a penchant for hitting on his favourite baby sister. The wheat-chewing boy had been bugging him for the past week: today, especially. And if there was one thing Jet had in droves, it was clearly stalker-tendencies. Every step the blue-clad teen took, every move he made, Jet was there on his heels. And exiled princey over there had to deal with this almost every day?  
  
Sokka almost felt bad for Zuko. Almost.   
  
“Hey, Sokka,” Jet, speaking of the slimy bastard, sidled up next to him.  
  
“Don’t talk to me,” the water tribe boy ordered, picking the tray with Iroh’s freshly-brewed, freshly-poured tea, and turning to deliver it to cute pigtailed girl who was staring at Mr. Emo-pants himself, a love-struck grin spread across her dainty face   
  
“Sure, why not. That girl’s been eyeing Li for days, and he’s completely oblivious. I think she’s going to make her move.” The smirk that was plastered on Jet’s face clearly read, ‘I’m a genius’. Which he so wasn’t. Sokka had called it from the first day on the job—not that the stalker would remember.  
  
“Ignoring you,” he replied instead of pointing this fact out.  
  
“Yeah, okay,” Jet shrugged, his own tray full of tea almost spilling with the movement. “Bet you two gold coins that he completely blows her off.”  
  
Sokka snorted, shooting a bemused look at the current object of his ire. “Like hell that’ll happen. You’re on.” Clearly Jet wasn’t factoring Iroh into the equation. Sokka rolled his eyes, turning away from his fellow employee to drop the tea off at his table. And now that the lovely young lady there had been served, it was break time. Which also meant time to sit back and win two gold coins, easy as pie. Shooting an eager grin at his nemesis as he passed, the water tribesman meandered over to the sequestered table that the two had claimed as their own during breaks. He plopped himself into the seat against the wall and mentally prepared himself as he watched the girl finish her tea. A few seconds later he was joined by said nemesis, and the other boy seemed perfectly content to stalk Zuko to his heart’s content. The two turned to each other, shared a look, and then sat back to watch the fireworks.  
  
Meanwhile, Zuko, Mr. Emo-pants himself, was absolutely positive that his life was a big, cosmic joke. The universe simply took pleasure in taunting him, in creating situations that it knew would cause him pain and agony, be it physical or mental. The spirit world was out to get him and him alone. No one else. Just him, banished prince of the fire nation.  
  
Let it never be said that Zuko was not paranoid. Of course, it’s not paranoia if it’s true. In this case, though, it definitely _was_ paranoia. Approaching his uncle, he glanced around cautiously to make sure that no one was in earshot (especially Jet, the stalking bastard) before he started.  
  
“One of the customers is on to us,” he began. “Don’t look now, but there is a girl over there at the corner table. She knows we’re fire nation.” Iroh raised an eyebrow, turning to glance over his shoulder at this mysterious girl. With a scowl, the teen grabbed the old man’s arm. “Didn’t I say don’t look?!”  
  
A sly smile slid over Iroh’s face as he replied. “You’re right, Zuko. I’ve seen that girl in here quite a lot. Seems to me she has quite a little crush on you!”  
  
The exiled prince froze, a look of horror slipping over his face. He gaped at his uncle like a button-down shirt that was entirely too small. “W-what?” he finally managed.  
  
“Thank you for the tea!” a peppy voice interrupted, and the dark-haired boy turned to see the pigtailed girl there, holding out the money for the payment. Zuko grabbed the money and turned to put it away before she could see the blush that was beginning to form on his face. “What’s your name?” she asked once his back was turned towards her.  
  
Spinning back around, the socially-stunted teenager awkwardly replied, “My name’s Li! My uncle and I just moved here.”  
  
A soft smile was on her face as she stared at him. “Hi, Li, my name’s Jin. Thank you, and…well…I was wondering if you’d like to go out sometime.”  
  
Zuko stared at her blankly.  
  
“He’d love to!” Iroh interrupted, a giant smile on his face. Who knew that after all those years of living on a ship at sea with absolutely no girl’s around, his nephew would turn into quite the lady-killer? Granted, the signs had always been there, what with the young lady Mai, but living with no women changed a boy.  
  
Zuko, meanwhile, continued to stare blankly at Jin.  
  
“Great!” she exclaimed. So what if Li hadn’t agreed himself? She had a date! “I’ll meet you in front of the shop around sundown,” the pigtailed girl concluded, turning to leave. Iroh, still smiling, slung an arm around his taller nephew’s shoulders, finally breaking the boy out of his stupor as the scarred young man turned to glare down at him. Of course, the retired general had dealt with that look for years and just ignored it, giving his very favourite relative a pat on the back before turning back to his brew.  
  
Jet, meanwhile, could’ve laughed…if he didn’t cry, that was. Turns out the joke was on him. All the spirits were probably having a grand old time with the fact that he hadn’t factored the old man into his equation. He turned to face the water tribe boy who was giving him that cocky smirk.  
  
“Pay up,” Sokka chortled. With a scowl, the older boy dug into his pocket and plopped the two coins into his competition’s hands.   
  
“This isn’t over,” Jet growled. There was absolutely no way he was losing to that idiot, not after Sokka had caused him to lose Katara’s favor. The girl had left him _stuck to a tree_ and _covered_ in ice. When the rest of his Freedom Fighters had finally managed to get him out, it had been a wonder to all of them that he hadn’t caught any type of hypothermia. “How about this: double or nothing. I bet you anything he ends up ruining the date tonight.”  
  
Sokka snorted. “Oh, please. If there’s one thing I know, it’s girls. I made out with the moon spirit once, you know. Oh, Yue…” he trailed off for a second, staring longingly into the distance before snapping back to the conversation. “And my current girlfriend? Kick-ass warrior, let me tell you. But like I was saying, I _know_ girls. That’s the type of girl who’ll find all Z— _Li’s_ weird antics adorable. You’re on.”  
  
“Fine,” the tall boy glared. He stood up and stretched, getting ready to return to work. “We meet out here just before sunset to follow them. How does that sound to you?”  
  
“Perfectly agreeable. But, man, Li’s completely right about you. You _are_ a stalker.”  
  
“If I’m a stalker, what does that make you for coming with me?” Jet shot back, placing his wheat stalk back between his lips.  
Leaning back in his chair and placing his arms behind his head, Sokka regarded his nemesis coolly. “I’m just a man with a heavily invested interest.”  
  
“Sure you are,” was all the reply he got before the other boy was off helping with closing up the shop for the day. Just as he was about to get up to go help, a dark presence suddenly hovered over him. For a second, a chill went up his spine and Sokka thought it was some dark spirit come to wreak vengeance for an unknown evil. Then he looked up and realized it was just Prince Pouty with his usual penchant for pissy-ness.   
  
“Oh, uh, hey _Li_ ,” he greeted, an unusual glint in his bright blue eyes.  
  
Zuko grunted and grabbed Sokka’s arm. “C’mere,” he muttered, dragging the younger boy into the back room.   
  
Sokka raised an eyebrow, definitely curious. The other teen kept twitching, and had begun to pace back and forth.   
  
“Um…I, uh…I kind of—you will help me!” the angry prince finally forced out.   
  
A snort came from the water tribesman as he leaned back against the shelf. He glanced around the small room, taking in the washbasin filled with dirty dishes and the tea supplies stacked around the room before finally settling his gaze on the sweating boy, a sight that was strange in itself because firebenders rarely sweated. Their body heat was unreasonable.   
  
“Okay, I’ll help you,” he finally relented after a moment. “But only because you look so pathetic. Oh, and I’ve got invested interest in this. See, Jet bet me that you’ll end up scaring that girl off on your date tonight—don’t look so surprised, it’s a small teashop, and you guys were pretty loud. At least your uncle was. But like I was saying, Jet had a bet, so there was no way I could refuse it, you know how relentless he is.” Sokka broke off, noticing how hot the room had suddenly become. He glanced at the silently stewing prince.   
  
“You…you guys are betting on me?!” Zuko exclaimed. Anger flowed off of him in waves of heat causing the room to suddenly become stiflingly hot.  
  
“What the hell, Zuko? Calm down before you set something on fire! Unless, of course, you _want_ to be arrested by the Dai Li.” He paused before adding, “Not that I care, or anything. I mean, go ahead. Get arrested. No skin off my back.”  
  
The temperature dropped back to normal and Sokka was met with a look that was singularly not amused, Zuko’s only good eye narrowed. “Let it be said that the only reason I’m agreeing to this stupid date is because it’ll get Uncle off my back and Jet’s an asshole whose face I will beat in _again_ when all this is over. So what do I need to do?”  
  
Sokka paused. “Wait a minute, wait a minute. Did you say _again_? You mean you’ve beat Jet up before? Seriously? You gotta tell me, c’mon, dude! From one guy who can’t stand him to another.   
  
Huffing, the prince dropped to the floor, stretching his legs out as he gestured for his enemy-turned-coworker to do the same. “Fine. I tell you, you help me, no one else _ever_ hears of this. Got it?”  
  
“Sure, sure,” the water tribesman acquiesced, sliding down to sit across from the scarred boy.  
  
“You know how Jet’s been stalking me?” Zuko asked, though he continued before Sokka could get a word in edgewise. “Well, it didn’t start with the creepy, obsessive, underwear-sniffing type that he’s got going on now. It was a few weeks ago, and he saw uncle bend his tea warmer at the station—we had met on the boat to Ba Sing Se, by the way, and he kept trying to get me to join his stupid Freedom Fighters—and started following us around trying to prove we were firebenders. Which we are, but no one else needs to know that. Anyway, one night I guess he got tired of it and publicly accused us of firebending at the old teashop we were working at while some guards happened to be there. He attacked us to try and get us to defend ourselves by firebending, and I, uh,” Zuko paused, rubbing the back of his neck as a faint blush crossed the bridge of his nose, “I grabbed one of the guards’ dual dao blades and took him on. Almost sliced his head off, too, but the asshole ducked…So, anyways, the Dai Li came and were going to arrest him for ‘disturbing the peace’, but I…might have felt a little bad? I don’t know, it was a stupid moment of insanity, but I told them he was drunk and I’d take him home. Surprisingly they left him alone, and Jet decided I couldn’t possibly be firenation if I’d done something that nice. Bastard didn’t stop stalking me, though. What?” the prince added, seeing the way Sokka was gaping at him.  
  
“Okay, two things: first of all, you took on Jet, master of the hook sword, with dual dao blades? I thought firebenders didn’t lower themselves to things such as weapons. And secondly, did you just say you did something nice?”  
  
Zuko glared at him. “I happen to be a _master_ at dao blades, thank you very much. When you don’t live in Fire Nation territory, which I haven’t since I was thirteen, it helps if you have other forms of defense. I learned that shortly after I was banished.” He fell silent for a moment, and Sokka shot him an indecipherable look before he continued. “And as for Jet, well…temporary insanity, like I said. Besides, the look on his face—it was like kicking a tiger-puppy!” And the look on Sokka’s face got even stranger.  
  
“Um, Zuko, I don’t know if you didn’t get the memo or something, but you’re evil; you’re supposed to do things like kick tiger-puppies.” An extra nod of the water tribe boy’s head gave the statement extra emphasis.   
  
The exiled teenager snorted and shot a disbelieving look at the younger male. “I’m not evil. _Azula’s_ evil. And for the record, she _does_ do things like kick tiger-puppies and throw rocks into turtle-duck ponds for fun. And besides, Azula’s downright friendly compared to my father…” His voice turned slightly bitter during the last bit, and Sokka decided it was officially time for a topic change.  
  
“So!” the tan boy exclaimed, slapping a hand down on his knee. “Girls. Here’s what you need to know…”  
  
 **TBC…  
**  
  



	3. Life Sucks

Zuko sighed as he stepped foot outside of the shop.  He had known for quite some time, approximately three years now, that his life sucked.  After all, if having your dad decide to burn half your face off for barely any reason at all didn’t tell you that, who knew what did. That wasn’t even getting into his crazy psycho of a little sister or uncle of questionable sanity (who at least had never tried to kill him, so there was a point in Iroh’s favour).  Right now, though, this fact was being reinforced in his mind.  From the slicked down hairstyle Uncle “Mushi” had forced him into to the fancy clothes Sokka had picked out to the scowl on his face, everything about his look and demeanor screamed out, “I’m going on a date looking like a dork and clearly not happy about it”.

Zuko had never been that hard to read.

Glancing around to see if he could spot his two stalkers for the night, the prince almost missed Jin when she came around the corner.  In fact, he probably would’ve missed her entirely had she not announced her presence.

“Hey!” she greeted, a pleasant smile gracing her pleasant face.  “Well…look at you!  You look so cute!” Zuko’s scowled deepened out of pure frustration when the girl reached out and mussed his hair.

“It took my uncle ten minutes to do my hair!” he protested weakly.  So his hair did look kind of stupid.  Still, that gave the girl no right to just come and—fix it.  It wasn’t like she was his girlfriend or anything.  She was _definitely_ not his girlfriend, actually.  Fixing his hair was probably just some status thing or something: a “my hair is better than yours”.  Her hair had probably taken all of ten seconds to pull into that (kind of cute, actually) ponytail. 

Zuko detested people who had hair that manageable.  There was a reason the royal palace had about twenty hairdressers on hand at any given time.  No one understood just how much work it took to get The Firelord or Azula’s hairstyle just right.  In fact, Zuko doubted that Azula even realized just how challenging doing hair was.  There was a reason Iroh still did his nephew’s to this day.

The scarred prince was pulled from his musings when his date grabbed his arm.  “Come on!” she called.  “I know just the place.”

He sighed once more, and completely resigned himself to his fate.

Meanwhile, around the corner of the teashop, two dubious-looking faces appeared.

“It’s basically like I’ve won already, so you might as well just give up now,” Sokka announced, watching the two walk away.  “I mean, he snipes at her and she just giggles.  There’s no way he’s ruining this.”

Jet pulled back fully around the corner, placing his wheat stalk into his mouth. "The date just started.  He could still do something unforgivable. I mean, he’s not the most polite person in the world.”            

“And clearly she’s not the most sensitive person in the world.  I mean, she’s going on a date with Zu— _Li_ ,” the water-tribe boy corrected himself at the last minute.  Jet shot him a strange look as he walked out into the now empty street.

“Why do you keep doing that?” the taller teen asked, more suspicious than curious.

“Doing what?” Sokka replied.  He meandered out into the street after his sister’s ex-boyfriend and the two began following their designated stalkee. 

“You keep going to call Li something else.  Some Z-name.  _Zu_ -something.  Why?”

Sokka paused, momentarily taken aback.  It had become something of an unspoken agreement that he would keep the banished prince’s secret, despite all the bad blood between them.  After all, working together for the week or so they had, the young watertribesman had come to realize that Zuko wasn’t the mean-hearted, baby-killing, turtleduck burning monster that he had imagined.  Sure, the older teen was a tad uncouth, a little rough around the edges, but he’d been living on a ship for three years.  Working with him, Sokka had come to realize that his life didn’t suck quite as much as he thought it did.  No, Zuko’s sucked.  And that scar had a story behind it, one Sokka didn’t know for sure yet, but he’d heard the rumours. So he froze, wondering how to answer the question without giving the prince away.  Opening his mouth, he turned to answer.

“Uhh…”

Jet was unimpressed.  As the two continued down the barren, stone streets, he folded his arms behind his head and shot him an even stranger look than before.  “You’re hiding something.”

“What?!” Sokka laughed nervously.  “No!  Of course not!  It’s just, he looks like this one guy we had down in the South Pole.  Yeah, that’s it.  His name was…Zutara!  We always used to play… _tag_ out on the icebergs.  He would always be it, chasing us around.  All the time.  Nonstop.  And then he got eaten by a tiger-seal, and we were all very sad.”

The tall, wheat-chewing boy gave his companion a disbelieving stare. His scathing reply, however, was cut off as they watched their quarry enter a pretty nice looking restaurant.  They glanced at each other, shrugged, and then followed. 

Meanwhile, ‘Li’ pretended not to notice the two idiots who had tagged along behind him.  As one who was pretty much an expert in the skill of stealth, it was practically embarrassing to see how bad these two were at it—especially because Zuko knew that Jet was better than this.  After all, the boy had been stalking him for weeks in a creepy, borderline obsessive kind of way.  It was…odd, to say the least, having someone so interested in him.  And now it was more than just Jet: it was Jin, too.  The girl sat across from him, teacup in hand, staring in a way that was starting to creep him out a tad.  He stared down at his food, playing at it in the way his mother had taught him never to do in order to deal with the unnatural silence.

“So,” his date began, startling him as she sipped at her tea.  “How do you like the city so far?”  Jin smiled at him, and Zuko mentally began to freak.  He had no idea how to deal with something like this!  Why would Uncle do this to him?

“It’s okay,” he replied disinterestedly, managing to keep a clamp on his emotions.

“What do you like to do for fun?” she tried again, taking another sip.

“Nothing.”

The two lapsed into silence once more.  Zuko was grateful when the waiter suddenly came up.  He was most definitely a welcome distraction. 

“Excuse me, sir.  Would you and your girlfriend care for dessert?”

…And that was absolutely the wrong thing to say.  The prince had tried to keep a lid on his rapidly bubbling over emotions, but that made him snap.

“She is NOT my _girlfriend_!” he shouted, banging his fists on the table.  Everyone in the restaurant turned to stare at the temperamental boy, and he turned his head away, continuing to stare into space as the waiter ran off.  Jin looked slightly taken aback at his outburst for a second but then seemed to shrug it off and started to pile food into her mouth. 

Zuko was panicking, though.  This date was not going well at all.  He tried to remember what Sokka and Uncle had both told him: _“Always remember to compliment her!”_

“You have…quite an appetite for a girl,” he tried, twiddling his thumbs. 

Jin paused in her eating.  “Um…thanks?”

A couple tables over, Jet snorted.  “You might as well pay up now, Sokka,” he taunted.  “I mean, you’ve practically lost already.”

“I wouldn’t quite count him out yet,” the younger boy shot back, watching their coworker attempt to blunder his way through the questions his date was asking him about where he came from.

Jet frowned for a second before an unsettling smirk drew around his ever-present wheat stalk.  “So, Sokka,” he began slyly.  The other boy didn’t even so much as turn to look at him, but the Freedom Fighter could still feel the glare that had been aimed at him in thought, if not in action.  “You never did tell me how Katara’s been.”

“Making out with Aang a bunch, that’s how she’s been,” came the not-so-happy response from the not-so-happy young man that was currently gripping his chopsticks so hard that they were beginning to crack. 

“Yeah, good try,” the tall teen replied, his smirk growing wider as he leaned back in his seat.  “There’s no way Katara’s noticed Aang’s googly eyes.  Especially not after _me_.  You want to know what we did that night in my room?  I can tell you it was more than kissing.”  And that smirk was downright perverted now. 

Sokka rubbed his face for a second before turning to face his temporary partner, anger glinting in his eyes as he stood up in an attempt to intimidate his sort-of rival.  “Jet, I swear to Yue, if you don’t shut up _right this instant_ , I will boomerang you.”

Peering up at his ex-girlfriend’s older brother, the Freedom Figher idly wondered if maybe he was pushing one too many buttons.  Then he shrugged and decided to screw it.  After all, it wasn’t like Sokka could really beat him in a fight or anything.  Although the way he was staring down was kind of creepy. A different approach was probably best called for, he decided.

“Swear to _Yue_?  Who the heck is Yue?  Are you making _up_ names now or something?”  The way Sokka froze at that informed Jet that that probably hadn’t been the best thing to say.

Sokka would have liked to say that he literally saw red at that comment, but it wouldn’t have been an accurate statement.  No, what the young watertribesman saw was more of a very vivid image of Jet’s head on the end of a patented Water Tribe spear.  With Zuko cheering on in the background while Toph cackled maniacally, Katara cried, and Aang gave a speech on the evils of violence. 

Sokka had always had an overly active imagination. 

Either way, what he did at that moment could only be termed in one way:  incredibly stupid.  With a loud yell, the younger and shorter boy jumped across the table to tackle the person he disliked most in the world.

Zuko was about to attempt juggling in an attempt to please this girl who was smiling at him so charmingly when he heard the yell three tables away.  Snapping out of his hormone-induced rage, he turned to see what was going on.  A whole new, but much more familiar, kind of rage began to bubble up inside of the banished prince as he watched Sokka tackle Jet. 

“Oh Agni, no!” he growled angrily.  Part of him wanted to drop his head into his hands and bemoan his fate in life (as he was so prone to doing), but Zuko just couldn’t bring himself to look away.  It was the most horrible thing he’d ever seen:  his first date about to end horribly and chaotically. 

…Okay, so it wasn’t the most _horrible_ thing he had ever seen, but the prince could definitely not think of too many more things that were worse than this, excluding the major ones (like his dad _burning half his face off_ or his sister _trying to kill him_ on a semi-regular basis).  This was definitely more horrible than the time he’d nearly been captured by Zhao breaking Aang out of Pohuai Stronghold.  Hell, it was worse than the time those pirates had blown his ship up trying to kill him!

“I thought Sokka was supposed to be helping,” he groused to himself as he slipped down in his seat, arms crossed angrily across his chest.  Jin glanced at him oddly as she noticed how Zuko had suddenly begun to pout, albeit angrily, but her attention was quickly redrawn to the fight between the two boys, as was Zuko’s. 

Jet grappled with Sokka, partially mindful of the tables around, but only so much as it took to slam the other boy down on top of one.  The Freedom Fighter growled as he suddenly found himself kicked away and being punched at wildly.  He dodged all the loose punches his foe threw, only to accidentally trip over the tray the waiter had dropped in his haste to get away from the feuding boys.  Jet was only half aware of the litany of words and curses being thrown at him, but he was distinctly aware of Sokka about to hit him again.  Not about to let that happen, the older teen grabbed at his opponent once more, only to find himself in a sort-of stand-off that ended when both went flying onto an occupied table, food flying everywhere, but most likely on top of the guests sitting there. 

Jet was about to punch Sokka again when he suddenly realized the other boy had stopped, a slightly horrified appearing in his blue eyes.  Jet glanced up to see pretty girl from the teashop and froze as well.  It took all the courage in his body (which was quite a lot, actually) to turn and glance at the furious gold eyes glaring down at him with all the loathing they could possibly muster in between the food dripping down the face that held them.

“Uh…h-hey, Li,” he stammered out.  At that moment he’d never been more glad for discovering that Li was, in fact, not a firebender.  Otherwise, Jet was sure he would be dead within the next few seconds.

Zuko just continued to glare. Food dripping through his hair, on his clothes, on top of his date, everywhere, all the firebender could bring himself to do was glare.

 _In, out.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Do not set anything on fire.  Breathe in, breath out,_ was the mantra on repeat in his head.  Idly, the prince noted that it was amazing how no one had noticed the lanterns all flickering in unison with his breathing patterns, but from the look in his eyes it appeared that Sokka had. Giving himself a few more moments to make sure nothing was going to spontaneously combust from anger, the former crown prince of the Fire Nation pushed himself up to tower over his two enemies/stalkers-turned-coworkers. 

“I’m leaving,” he ground out, food continuing to drip down his forehead.  It had managed to make it’s way into his collar, actually, and the feeling of noodles down his shirt was most definitely disconcerting.  Zuko contined, “Jet, if you follow me home, _I will hurt you.”_

Jet gave a slightly nervous laugh as he idly noted his wheat stalk had disappeared from between his lips.

“Sokka,” Zuko began before pausing.  He closed his mouth then opened it again before shutting it once more.  Sokke ‘eep’ed.  Finally, the scarred young men stomped off angrily, leaving his two antagonists and date sitting there covered in food.

“Well, that went better than I expected,” the water tribe boy finally announced.

Meanwhile, Zuko growled to himself as he stormed into the apartment he and his uncle shared.

“How was your night, Prince Zuko?” Iroh asked, and the prince didn’t even bother to reply as he stormed into his room and slammed the sliding doors shut. That was all the response needed.


	4. Not a Happy Camper

Jet…was not happy. It was past sundown, and the boy sat in his usual haunt on the roof across the street from the apartment Mushi and Li stayed in, the one that gave him that perfectly clear view into their tiny abode.  Watching the scarred younger boy was pleasant and all, but it had been three days since Li had actually spoken an actual word to him, and the last thing he had said had been a not-so-subtle threat. Jet had dealt with the other boy’s anger before—several times, in fact, including when Li had saved him from being arrested—but this time seemed worse.  It was compounded by the fact that the moody waiter had actually started speaking to _Sokka_ of all people again today (even if just in insults and snide comments), while flat out ignoring every blatant come on, innuendo, or attempt at physical molestation that Jet had attempted. 

So now, here he was, resorting back to his old methods.  The former Freedom Fighter idly wondered if perhaps Li suspected that he was out here, right now, watching him.  After all, every so often, the younger boy would wander past the window and glare out into the distance, generally in Jet’s direction. Jet sighed every time he saw those pale gold eyes glance out.  He wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something that drew him continually in Li’s direction, something he had noticed from when he had first set eyes on his fellow refugee that day on the boat.  It was in the way he carried himself, that’s what set him apart from the rest of the bedraggled, downtrodden, and all around defeated emigrants that surrounded them.  He was more guarded than the rest of them, and clearly hurt deeper if that scar on his face was anything to go by, but he held himself tall and was clearly unwilling to deal with substandard conditions. Li had pride, and a good deal of it, too, something that Jet found interesting.  Something that enticed the older boy and made him want to spend more time with him, much to Li’s consternation.  Although, Li wasn’t too much of a problem.

The problem was with Mushi. 

No matter what good thing Li had done for him that night outside the teashop, Jet knew what he had seen. Mushi’s tea had gone from lukewarm to steaming, something he would only have been able to do by firebending.  For nights, the Freedom Fighter had lay in his bed trying to deny it, but no matter what way he looked about the situation, the old tea maker was a firebender.  Li, he wasn’t sure about, as there had been no actual evidence against the other boy, but the fact that he was travelling with the old firebender made him completely suspect in Jet’s mind. So, after Li had saved him from the Dai Li, there had really been only one way to live with himself.  Self-delusion.

Smellerbee and Longshot had noticed the way Jet had blinded himself to his prior knowledge, and while they were slightly concerned about it, both agreed that it was probably better for him in the long run.  Jet had come to convince himself of what everyone else had been trying to tell him—what he saw was wrong.  It was easy enough to   The tea had always been hot. After all, Mushi had only complained about it not being hot _enough_.  Maybe he just preferred it scalding.  Self-delusion was the only thing keeping Jet’s precariously balanced world from completely crumpling down on itself, leaving only a heaping pile of ash in its wake.

Contentedly embracing this new outlook on life had left Jet with time to examine his motivations behind things, and while he had continued to follow the shorter boy around, the reasons behind the stalking had changed completely.  There was one thing that Jet was absolutely positive of being true in his new delusion-based universe:  a large part of him was attracted to Li.  The way the waiter moved, the way he talked down to anyone he did not like (everyone), even the way he angrily shoved Jet out of the way on a regular basis—all his actions had burnt their way deep into Jet’s heart…or at least his pants, at any rate. 

Jet sighed in contentment as he thought about the way Li looked when he was standing at the sink washing dishes, with his sleeves rolled up and that angry glower plastered across his face daring anyone to come bother him.  He was only pulled out of his musings when the familiar feeling of sharp metal made itself aware against his neck.

“Li,” he greeted amiably, looking up to see the angry scarred face he had just been fantasizing about. 

“What do you think you’re doing here?” the younger boy growled, one half of his dual dao set pressing harder against Jet’s neck to the point where the Freedom Fighter felt his Adam’s apple would get nicked if he were to swallow.  The other sword was clasped tightly in a white-knuckled fist, which made him realize that perhaps now was not the best time to antagonize the already pissed-off waiter.

“You’re talking to me again, then?” he opted for instead, silently cursing when that only served to irritate Li more.  The boy moved slightly, and Jet suddenly panicked and regretted leaving his own blades at home as he was sure that the black-haired boy meant to do some serious damage to his coworker.  “Wait, wait, wait!” he exclaimed nervously, backing up slightly.  His hand slipped against the edge of the shingles, and he looked behind him to see the rather abrupt drop that would surely result in broken bones should he go over.  “Look, Li, I just wanted to apologize!”

“I got that the first fifteen times you tried,” Li growled in return, not moving any closer, but also not dropping his weapon.  “I would probably be more impressed if you weren’t watching me through my bedroom window.”

“What can I say?” the cornered teen shot back with a slightly nervous laugh.  “You make me want you, baby.” The line was said with such a cheesy grin that the object of Jet’s unwanted affection merely grimaced as if that line had physically hurt him before smoothly combining his swords and sliding them back into the scabbards.  He sighed before taking a seat in front of Jet and staring at him with that perpetual frown that graced his scarred features. 

“I don’t understand you at all,” Li snapped.  “First you run around trying to prove that my uncle and I are firebenders—” Jet twitched at this, but decided to let it slide over his head.  “—and then you just start straight out stalking me for no good reason when you drop that whole thing, only to start betting with _Sokka_ of all people about my love life, or lack thereof, and then ruin the only date I’ve ever gone on!  And then you try and apologize by being even more of an ass than usual and then sitting outside of my window watching me! What is wrong with you?”

Jet blinked and went to reply.  “That was your first date?” he asked.  Most of him was completely unsurprised by both the revelation and the fact that his mouth had spoken before his brain could process what was being said. 

“Of course that’s all you get from that,” the shorter boy growled, his gold eyes flashing angrily as he stood up.  “You know, Jet, when I first met you, on the boat into Ba Sing Se—I don’t know.  I thought you were different. Someone who cared about people; someone I could actually be friends with.” Jet froze at this.  Li barely graced him with more than a line of insults strung together, but now he was actually talking to him.  Honestly.  Jet didn’t know what had brought this on so suddenly, so out of character for the other boy, but he sat up a little straighter as he took in everything the object of his attention was telling him.  “For a short time there, I actually liked you,” the scarred boy continued, raking his fingers through his short hair as he continued to glare down directly into dark eyes. “Now I realize that you are singularly the second biggest mistake I’ve made in my life.  _Congratulations_ , Jet, because I’ve made a lot of mistakes.” The last bit was said bitterly, and the Freedom Fighter was suddenly aware of a sharp stinging in his chest, one that he had really only felt once before when an angry Katara had froze him to a tree, her heart completely broken over the way he had used her and Aang.  Guilt.

As Li turned to leave, Jet jumped up, and grabbed his arm.  The other boy turned to look back at him through dark gold eyes, and he was suddenly aware that this was much deeper than the waiter’s usual little snits.  He opened his mouth to apologize, sincerely this time.

“So what was your first biggest mistake?” he asked instead, and cursed himself inwardly when he was met with a disgusted look.  He did note, however, how the other refugee idly fingered his scar for a moment before turning away in a huff.

“Just leave, Jet,” were the final words that the shaggy-haired boy received before his coworker disappeared into the shadows surrounding the roof he sat on, leaving him completely alone. 

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Sokka awoke to the wonderful morning sounds of birds chirping, Aang’s loud eating, and Toph and Katara in the middle of a bending war.  Stretching, he let out a loud yawn, and scratched at the hair that hung down around his head. 

“Good morning, everybody!” he called cheerfully as he exited the room he had been given in the house for the duration of their stay in the city a few minutes later fully dressed, shaved, and hair styled.

“Morning, Sokka!” Aang replied cheerfully, waving from where he sat kneeling with a bowl of rice.  “Joo Dee already stopped by to deliver our breakfast.  We were going to wake you, but then Toph got Katara mad by calling her names again, and, well…” The Avatar gestured to the other side of the room, where destruction ran rampant, the aftereffects of the two girls’ morning ritual.  Now they sat on opposite sides of the room, glaring angrily each other.  Sokka sighed, but then suddenly paused as what Aang said caught up with him. 

“Wait—breakfast already came by?  How long ago?” he asked dramatically, grabbing his young friend by the arms and shaking him a bit. 

“Not too long ago, but—wait, where are you going, Sokka?” the bald monk suddenly cut himself off as the water tribesman suddenly dropped him, running out of the room with cries of ‘I’m late!’ echoing behind him. 

Sokka ran down the winding streets of the city, not stopping until he reached the fancy teashop that, luckily enough, had not yet gotten crowded.  He breathed a sigh of relief and then stepped into the shop—only to suddenly find himself completely crushed under the overwhelming tension that had somehow seeped its way into the rather quaint business overnight.

Zuko and Jet were both serving tea, each to one of the two customers there, and the annoying Freedom Fighter kept shooting odd looks at the exiled prince, who seemed to be doing his very best (which was actually extremely good) to ignore him.  Sokka sighed and made his way over to the lesser of the two evils at the moment.  Zuko ignored him, as well. 

“Li,” Sokka tried out loud, only to find himself on the receiving end of one of those scalding glares.  He just tugged the boy’s sleeve and pulled him into the back room.  “I—,” he began, but was suddenly cut off by the evil prince’s wildly gesturing hands as the firebender began to rant.

“What is wrong with the both of you?!” he cried.  “Is it too much to realize that I just want to be _left alone_?  I hate this city!  This whole time, its just been Jet, Jet, Jet, following me around nonstop, trying to get me arrested and who knows what and then just doing it for kicks, I don’t know.  And now it’s him and _you_ , you stupid little Water Tribe peasant, and if I turn around, one of you is suddenly there, right in my face. Always trying to talk to me or apologize or make some sort of snide comment or creepy innuendo. I had more space on that tiny ship I lived on for three years!  And then that’s just not enough for either of you, is it?  But I guess it’s no surprise—you must hate me!  After all, I’ve only been chasing you around trying to capture you for a long, long time, even if I didn’t particularly have a choice.  And Jet is just an ass who doesn’t care about other people’s feelings!  This whole city is so stupid.  We’re going to start over, Uncle said.  It’ll all be great, Uncle said. We’re going to hide where Azula won’t find us, Uncle said.  Knowing my luck, my sister’s probably on her way here right now!  After all, you showed up, which means the Avatar’s somewhere around here, too!  What are you even doing in the city?!”  Zuko ended on a huff, glaring directly into Sokka’s blue eyes as he held onto the younger boy’s top. 

“Um…do you feel better now?” the water tribesman attempted after a few moments. 

There was a slight pause before the angry prince muttered a, “Yes,” and dropped his enemy, turning away to cross his arms. 

Sokka grinned slightly at the other boy’s petulant attitude, thinking over the question he was just asked.  Whether or not Zuko realized it, it was a pretty loaded question.  Although, telling the prince of the Fire Nation that they were in Ba Sing Se to try and get forces to invade the Fire Nation on the one day where all the benders would lose their ability was probably not the best idea, so Sokka went for the other honest option.

“We lost Appa,” he said with a shrug. A part of him still protested giving the prince even that much information, but considering how very little standing he had at the moment—branded a traitor and wanted dead or alive—Sokka figured Zuko didn’t have that much of a leg to stand on when it came to catching Aang right now.  Especially not if he was really interested in staying in the city peacefully, as it had become increasingly obvious that he was. The Fire Nation prince half turned to stare at him out of his bad eye, confusion clearly visible.

“What?” he asked.

“What we’re doing in the city.  We were in the desert visiting—well, it’s not important what we were doing.  Toph was the only one around, and some sand benders snuck up on her and kidnapped Appa.  We have strong reason to believe he’s somewhere in the city, so we’re here until we find him.”

“That’s it?”

“What do you mean that’s it?” That was offensive.  Losing Appa had hit the whole team hard, especially Aang.  Although, considering who he was talking to…

“That’s the whole reason you’re in this city with its thrice-damned walls?  Because the Avatar lost his pet bison?” The derision in those words was even more painfully obvious now, especially as the green-clad boy turned to fully face his foe. 

“Yeah, kind of like the whole reason you’re in this city with it’s thrice-damned walls is because your dad _banished_ you and then branded you a _traitor_ ,” Sokka snapped back, although he froze when he saw the sudden hurt on Zuko’s scarred face, quickly masked by that permanent anger.  “Wait, Zuko—,” he tried, but the prince just pushed past him and out into the main shop, getting back to work without another word.  Sokka wandered after him a moment later, shame crossing his face when Iroh turned to give him a knowing look. 

“Well, at least he’s mad at both of us,” Jet said out of nowhere, and Sokka looked up to find that the Freedom Fighter had sidled up next to him at some point.  “Although, he’s at least had some time to cool down from last night with me.”

The blue-eyed boy raised an eyebrow at his sister’s ex-boyfriend, although it wasn’t quite as impressive as when Jet did it himself.  “ _Last_ _night_?” he asked, and the implication in his tone was not easily missed.  Jet almost flushed, but he would not be himself if he didn’t know how to flirt relentlessly and make crude jokes, so Sokka’s implication meant nothing.

“Yep, last night.”  The Freedom Fighter suddenly found himself at a loss for words as he tried to formulate what he wanted to say.  “Sokka,” he began slowly.  “I mean…you seem to know him, right? At least better than I do.”

It was with a cautious glare that the water tribesman addressed Jet.  “Sort of,” he replied.  “But not really.  Although if you’re thinking what I’m thinking you are, I’m going to tell you right now, Jet: don’t do it.  Don’t try it.  Don’t go for it.  Don’t even think on it any further.  I guarantee you it won’t work.”  Because not only was Zuko not nearly the pushover Katara was, he was also Fire Nation.  And while Jet seemed to have been fooled on that point up until, Sokka was positive that it would not stay a secret for long.

Jet stayed silent for a few moments, only making a sly comment when Zuko came over and, rather angrily, set two trays in front of them with no words, only pointing at the tables they were supposed to be delivered to.  Sokka, picking up the tray to deliver, wondered what exactly it was that had set the moody but quiet prince off.  


	5. Small Oddities

It was…odd.  To say that Zuko was unhappy would’ve been a grave understatement.  Even livid would’ve only barely been brushing the deep, unsuppressed feelings of utter rage that burned within his soul.  At the same time, though, for the first time in an extremely long time, the banished prince was beginning to feel something mostly unfamiliar to him:  contentment.  Sure, he was pouring people tea and ungrateful Earth Kingdom nobles tended to grate on his nerves and he was more than likely never going to get the chance to go on a date with a girl again, but generally, things were…good. He really should’ve expressed his feelings a long time ago.  Uncle was lying off the tea jokes, Sokka was eyeing him suspiciously from _across the room_ , and Jet…well, for the first time since entering Ba Sing Se, the banished prince of the Fire Nation found he had space to walk two steps without getting that creepy feeling that someone was watching him from behind that window over there.  It was almost enough to make him actually want to smile—just a brief, quick upturning of his lips that barely pulled at the muscles, nothing deep or anything.

Almost, but not quite. 

On the even less gloomy side of things, Zuko had finally uncovered the reason behind the Avatar’s extended stay in the city.  The moody prince didn’t know if Sokka had told him out of guilt or to appease him or what, but it certainly gave him food for thought.  He now had several options before him, all of which could end in any number of pleasant ways for him (and several unpleasant ones he was loathe to admit because Zuko was a realist, _not_ a pessimist like everyone accused).  This, too, added to his mostly content state of being.  If things continued on like this, the dark-haired teen was going to find himself dangerously close to being happy. And Zuko was _never_ happy.  It was a law of the universe. 

Expressing his feelings had been unexpectedly cathartic.  Despite his habit of complaining grumpily about random things or glaring angrily into the distance, he wasn’t generally in the habit of expressing his feelings, and he had finally reached that oft spoken about point where everything bubbled over into one—okay, _two_ big explosions (because talking rationally to Jet? Yeah, that counted as a big explosion.  An explosion of _temporary insanity_ ).

On the bright side, it seemed to have worked.  He had even managed to get one apology out of the whole thing and an explanation as to why a certain one of the Avatar’s posse was constantly degrading his life into an even more pitiable state of existence than the one he already basked in.  And what did Sokka know, anyhow?  The idiot water tribesman didn’t know anything of _importance_ —least of all anything about Zuko’s life. What right did he have to judge things he couldn’t remotely understand? 

The dishes the angered prince was scrubbing were beginning to crack in his hands under the combined weight of the force he was using and the heat he was beginning to generate.  With a frustrated snarl, he dropped the things and, growling to himself, stormed out of the Jasmine Dragon without a word.  He didn’t even notice when Jet casually dropped what he was doing to slink out after him, or when Sokka stopped to tell ‘Mushi’ he was following Jet following Zuko before running out, too, so wrapped up in his rage was he (also, this was the reason why Iroh was glad he had hired another extra hand.  Teenage boys just couldn’t be relied on).

And he had been almost content all of five seconds ago.

Agni, this was why he needed those two idiots out of his life. This was why he needed out of this fire-forsaken _city_ filled with mindless crowds of people forced to obey an authoritarian government that cared even less about them than the Fire Nation would, should they ever conquer Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li craved control more than any Fire Lord ever had, and anyone who had lived in the lower ring and most in the middle and upper rings knew someone who had been forced on a “vacation” by the city’s police.  It was hard not to hear about it, especially when you were an immigrant.  The warning on the boat across the Serpent’s Pass had been quick and concise and summed up in the sentence that seemed to plague everything in this spirits-damned city:  “There is no war in Ba Sing Se.”

This was also the reason why, no matter what he said out loud, Zuko honestly couldn’t feel regret over saving Jet from the Dai Li—not that the wheat-chewing idiot would ever know this, or even say thank you for the huge risk ‘Li’ had taken that night, risking the attention of the city’s enforcers in order to save a stupid peasant with an attitude problem even worse than his own. And he was a conspiracy theorist, to boot (although, in all honesty, with the world they lived in, there really always _was_ a conspiracy. It was just about uncovering the right one).  And people claimed that the Prince of the Fire Nation was evil.

A sudden flash of a familiar-looking brown ponytail caught the corner of his eye and yanked the moody prince out of his thoughts.  He jerked his head around, catching a second look, and sure enough it was—

“Jin!” he called, dodging people in the market to catch up with the girl. She stopped and turned, her bright smile turning into a frown when she caught sight of who was behind her. Zuko stopped short in front of her, all the words of the carefully planned out speech that he had spent hours on, late at night when he was supposed to be sleeping, in the event that he ever saw her again slipping away from him at the sudden change in demeanour.

“Hi, Li,” she greeted evenly—if a little coolly.

“Um…h-hi, Jin,” he replied.  This was not his element.  Fighting was his element.  Spying was his element.  Hell, _fire_ was his element. Girls?  Not something he could ever understand or compose himself around long enough to try to.  Agni knew how much time he had spent trying to impress Mai when he was eleven. This was not a situation he was trained to handle, but with all the stubbornness ingrained in him (and with a demon sibling like Azula, it was quite a lot), the nervous boy stood his ground and desperately rooted around his mind for the words to the speech he had so tirelessly and endlessly worked on.  “I just wanted to tell you that…I mean to say…um…the other night, uh...I really…it was…nice?  And I’m…sorry?”

Oh, great. She was still glaring.

“N-not that we have to do anything like that again,” he tried some more. “But you haven’t been by the shop, and…uh…Uncle Mushi was wondering, and…I mean, um…coupon?” He held the paper up in front of him instantly, mentally ordering her to take it. He was relieved when the green-clad girl giggled, taking the paper from his hands.

“I…had fun, too,” she replied before frowning again.  Only this time the antisocial boy noticed that she was glaring past him rather than at him. “The reason I haven’t been around your shop is, well… _those two_. Your friends.” She pointed, and he turned in time to see Jet pull Sokka over to one of the street vendors, the two unconvincingly browsing.  Zuko felt a tick develop above his eyebrow all of a sudden.

And here he thought he had finally gotten some peace from everything except his own inner thoughts.

“They’re not my friends!” he exclaimed.  “I don’t even want to _work_ with them.”  And yet he was stuck serving tea with them every.  Single.  Day.

Zuko’s mind was made up even before the paper floating from the sky landed in his hands.  Seeing the “Missing Airbison!” add just proved to him that this was what he was supposed to do.

He was going to find that damn bison and get at least one of them out of the city as soon as he could.  Oh, but Jin was saying something to him.  He really needed to stop zoning out while she was talking.

“I think they’re about to start fighting again!”

Zuko dropped his face into his palm with a low groan.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“Jet, this isn’t a good idea,” Sokka tried again.  He knew it was futile—arguing with a madman always was. And if there was one thing that Jet had always been in Sokka’s mind, that was it:  mad.  As a zebra-lion.

“No, really, this is perfect!”  the insane Freedom Fighter returned, furiously pretending to be interested in whatever junk he was rifling through in an attempt to look busy. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.  This is all he needs, I’m sure of it.”

“And you said it yourself—I know him better than you do.  Li will _kill_ you.” And Sokka mentally congratulated himself for not even hesitating a bit before speaking the banished prince’s assumed name.  “Besides, it looks like Jin is willing to try another date—which means you still owe me, by the way.”

“Okay, so she might be a problem, but one easily taken care of. I did it once already, after all. Why do you care, anyway?  You don’t like either of us.  If it doesn’t work, I’ll be dead, and he might be more upset than usual.  No skin off your back.”  Jet whistled merrily as he continued to pretend to shop.

Those were great points the crazed, obsessive teen brought up, and in all honesty this situation really didn’t affect him that directly—other than the fact that, theoretically of course, Zuko could hunt the Avatar down with even more fervor and anger and general hurt channeled into every attack than before. Of course, that was assuming that the firebender took up his favourite pastime of Avatar-hunting again, something that wasn’t all too likely considering the older boy was branded a traitor and hiding out.  What it came down to was the fact that his father had taught him good values and Sokka felt kind of bad about what he had said that morning.  That, and he wouldn’t wish Jet on anyone. 

There was also that minor detail where Zuko could bend fire and Jet utterly loathed every member of the Fire Nation, no matter how young or old. The ones who could actually _bend_ the element were even worse in his eyes.

“Besides,” Jet continued, and the blue-clad tribesman couldn’t help but pray to his ex-girlfriend that the idiot would stop talking, “I realized something last night. I think…I think I might love him.”

Sokka stared in disbelief.  It was literally all he could do in the face of the foolishness he was being presented with.  It was utter foolishness. If he had been drinking something, he would’ve either spit it out or choked on it.

“Jet, that’s ridiculous.”

“It is not!  From the moment we met on the boat, I knew there was something between us. And then we had a minor bump, but when he saved me from the Dai Li, I realized I was wrong.”

“And then you continued to stalk him and bother him and drive him to the brink of murder even though you had just tried to have him executed, more or less. Besides, you’re forgetting one key point:  you’re incapable of loving anyone.”

Jet stopped what he was doing and whipped around to glare at the younger teen. The wheat-stalk in his mouth was dangerously close to being broken in two between heavily ground teeth. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he kept his voice low so as not to attract any undue attention—one bad run-in with the Dai Li had been more than enough to teach him that, at least.

“Exactly what I said,” Sokka snapped back.  “You don’t love people, you find people who you think are useful to you and put them into the situation where you have the best chance of manipulating them. Li saved your life; he’s the most useful person to you in the world right now.”

“That’s crap,” the tall teen snapped back snidely.  “I loved Katara right up until she froze me to a tree and left me for those Fire Nation bastards to find.”

Times like these, Sokka regretted accepting Iroh’s offer.  While freely ‘spying’ on Zuko (and Jet) was beneficial and all, Katara would forever be an easy point to stir up contention between him and the ex-Freedom Fighter—and Jet seemed to like bringing her up whenever he could. “First of all, you tried to kill destroy a whole village, and I mean kill everyone in it, young and old—”

“—They were Fire Nation scum, they deserved it!” Jet cut in darkly, barely keeping his voice down.”

“—and me!  Secondly, you didn’t even know us a _week_.  You don’t fall in love in a _week_.”

“Yeah, well, I can tell you that three days was more than enough time for me to get to _know_ her.”  Punching Jet was really getting to be a bad habit, but it was the most cathartic way of dealing with the jerk. 

Said jerk growled and grabbed his unluckily unbroken, bloody nose before moving to return the favour. Halfway there, though, his fist was intercepted and yanked behind his back.  Both boys were stunned for a second before they realized it was the angry face of Zuko/Li glaring back at them from over Jet’s shoulder.

“What in Ag—the hell is your problem?  Do I look like I want to deal with you two idiots every second of my day? Do you two really need that much _attention_?”  The added hiss to the last word emphasized his meaning as he released Jet’s arm.  “And stop following me around!” he added, shoving the taller boy hard. And then he was walking away with angry mumbles under his breath, back to the first girl he’d ever successfully interacted with, and Sokka remembered the real reason he had tagged along (other than keeping Jet from utter stupidity—really, he was entirely too nice sometimes). 

“Wait, Li,” the blue clad boy called out, jogging slightly to catch up with the angry tea server. 

“What?” Zuko snapped back. His glare was even more intense than usual, one gold eye narrowed angrily, the other burned frozen in its permanent scowl.

“I’m, um, sorry for what I said earlier.  About, you know.”  He gestured to his own face for emphasis.  For a split second, Sokka could have sworn he saw the angry prince’s glare lessen into something much closer to genuine astonishment, but before he could even blink, it was back with even more force than before and Zuko was brushing him off to go back to stuttering helplessly and tripping over every other word with Jin.  When he turned around, Jet had left—whether to the Jasmine Dragon or wherever he lived, Sokka neither knew nor cared.  With a huff, he, too, turned to leave, heading back to the fancy house the city had so kindly put Aang and his loyal travelers up in for the duration of their stay. 

A certain younger sister had some questions to answer about their brief stint among the Freedom Fighters.

** TBC… **


	6. Grand Discoveries

The apartment was small and sparsely decorated.  There was nothing altogether new or fancy, but compared to the dingy rooms of hardened clay that a large portion of the lower ring was built from, it was a dream come true.  There was even a bedroom that housed both occupants, but was separate from the rest of the quarters.  It was this bedroom that Jet was currently contenting himself to rummage around in, looking for any clues he could find that would bring him closer to the current object of his obsession.  Or affection.  If he believed as Sokka would have him, they were more or less the same thing.

Jet knew he shouldn’t be in here.  Li had caught him sniffing around he and Mushi’s old abode when they stayed in the lower ring, and the Freedom Fighter had been extremely lucky to come out of that in one piece.  That time, though, he was just trying to nab some piece of clothing that would bring him closer to his new friend.  This time, Jet had a goal.  He wanted to get to know the moody, scarred boy, and the only way Li would let him would be if Jet proved himself in some way.  But he didn’t know his fellow tea server well enough to even try and impress him.

Not yet, at least.

Besides, what Sokka avidly did not know was that Li was all Jet had left to cling to.  Smellerbee and Longshot had all but ended their friendship after the incident with the Dai Li, only coming around every so often to make sure their old leader hadn’t done anything stupid like accuse people of firebending again.  As far as Jet was concerned, if they were going to write him off like that, he was going to write them off just as easily. 

Sokka was right about one thing, though:  Jet was eternally grateful to his fellow immigrant for saving his life.  And he _did_ need Li in his life, but it was because his feelings were genuine.  It had just taken him a while to realize what they were.  And that’s why he found himself creeping around the small apartment, trying to find out whatever he could. 

So far, he hadn’t discovered anything more than what he had the last time he had been in there.  Sure, they had acquired a few more decorations with the move to a nicer place, but the two family members seemed to like to keep things sparse.  They had clothes, food, a set of dao blades (clearly Li’s), a couple of ancient tea scrolls (clearly Mushi’s), some dying plants, and not much else.  There was a locked case in the corner, but Jet wasn’t trying to leave evidence of his intrusion, and he wasn’t sure he could pop the lock without breaking it.

Now, he had been reduced to pacing back and forth across the wooden floor, trying to figure out his next move.

“Spirits, damn it!” the perturbed Freedom Fighter finally exclaimed, stomping his foot on the ground. The resultant sound wasn’t a heavy thump as he had expected, but rather a hollow-sounding noise, and a grin spread across Jet’s face, even as he popped the wheat stalk out of his mouth and stuck it in his bag. He knelt to the floor and noticed a groove there, something to make for easy removal of the floorboards.

“You are slick, Li,” he laughed to himself, and popped the wood up. There was a case hidden there, much like the one in the corner, only this one was smaller and wasn’t locked. His grin growing, the brown-haired boy reached down and pulled the top off, revealing something wrapped in cloth. This was getting better and better, he thought to himself.  Jet pulled the thing out and held it in his hands for a second before curiosity got the best of him and he unwrapped it.  And paused.

It was a mask.  It was a _blue_ mask.  A blue masks with black eyes and a wide, terrifying grin. A blue mask that he had seen time and time again throughout Fire Nation controlled territory, a picture wherever there were Wanted posters plastered.  The picture of the bane of Fire Nation soldiers. The Blue Spirit.

Jet fell back in surprise, dropping the mask to the floor. He sat there staring at it for minutes before laughter bubbled up in his chest, and he found himself doubled over laughing hysterically. 

“Oma and Shu, this is too good!  Spirits, this makes so much sense,” he exclaimed to himself between snorts. The first time the Blue Spirit showed up, saving the Avatar.  The sightings of the Blue Spirit in recent months, sporadically appearing throughout the Earth Kingdom.  Li’s constant nervousness, bordering on paranoia.  His need to not bring any unnecessary attention to himself. How angry he was at everything. His skill with duo dao blades, the token weapon of the Blue Spirit. That was probably why he hadn’t taken up Jet’s offer to join the Freedom Fighters, too.  The Blue Spirit worked alone.

Jet could see it all now, how very much the same the two of them were. It was a clear picture in his mind:  Li, parents probably taken from him at a young age by a cruel Fire Nation soldier. Face burned and horribly disfigured, but taken in by his uncle, who raised him.  Somewhere in there, he learned weapons and decided to strike against the nation that had so badly wounded him. 

Jet understood that.  He understood that better than anyone, especially better than _Sokka_ or everything’s-so-simple _Aang_. People like them couldn’t function in a society that chose to blatantly ignore the war, even if it seemed that both of them had come to start over in a peaceful environment.

Quickly putting everything back just the way he found it, the Freedom Fighter took the moment to ponder over his discovery. Sokka was wrong, and this proved it. Jet _was_ in love because Li was just like him.  And if Sokka was going to get in the way (again), he was just going to have to get rid of him. 

Meanwhile, across the Upper Ring in the restaurant district, Zuko found himself unusually paranoid. He was sitting across from Jin, trying this “date” thing out again, and it was going only marginally better this time around.  He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going horribly wrong somewhere, and it was going to rebound onto him somehow.  It was the same feeling he’d gotten before getting on that boat across the Serpent’s Pass that day, and then he’d met Jet, and everyone knew how well _that_ had turned out.

“—and I had really wanted to show you the Firelight Fountain, it’s my favourite place in the city.  The way the candlelight reflects on the water is just so beautiful, Li. Li?”

Zuko blinked, and tuned back in to where the pigtailed girl was staring at him expectantly.  “Uh…that sounds…nice?” he tried.  She smiled, and was off chattering again, leaving the prince to his thoughts.

Jet and Sokka were his problems at hand, and if he was going to overcome them, he would have to take them one at a time.  Ideally, Zuko wished he could get Sokka’s help to drive Jet off, but Sokka was the easier of the two to deal with.  He was with the Avatar.  The Avatar came for his bison.  Give the bison to the Avatar, the Avatar would fly away on his foolhardy task, his trusty boomerang idiot in tow. Jet, Zuko was going to have to make a determined effort to drive off. 

“I can’t do this,” Zuko suddenly exclaimed, cutting off his date’s spiel. Jin looked taken aback. The girl really was quite pretty, and that was all of why Zuko found her interesting, he’d realized. She herself had lived all her life safe within the walls of Ba Sing Se.  She didn’t know anything about the war beyond the vague, “It’s happening outside the walls” that prevailed among anyone who hadn’t immigrated to the giant, walled prison.  She was just so… _normal_.

“I’m sorry?” she questioned.

“I need to go,” he stated.  She looked lost, slightly confused, and more than a little disappointed as he stood up, but the boy forced himself not to care.  He pulled out his money pouch, this time making sure to leave enough coins to cover the meal before leaving.  Uncle would be disappointed because Zuko didn’t imagine she would be stopping by for tea again any time soon, even with the coupon. He sighed. 

It was approaching sunset now, and the exiled prince realized he had ditched the teashop all afternoon.  Iroh would probably still be there cleaning up and closing for the day, but he found no urge in him to go help his uncle.  Not today.  Instead, he found himself back at their small home, and before he knew it he was digging up his hidden secret from under the floorboards.  The mask felt foreign and familiar, all at once, the same as it always did whenever he pulled it out.  He knew on some level, had known since he had first decided to go after Aang when Zhao captured him, that he was betraying the Fire Nation every time he became the Blue Spirit.  What he was deciding to do now was only cementing that, and for a second he paused. That pause was enough for what little common sense he possessed to filter through his angst-ridden brain. Uncle Iroh would most likely not approve of this course of action, he realized, and contemplating trapping the Avatar was a pretty stupid idea. Besides, Sokka wasn’t… _too_ bad. The water tribe boy was actually pretty pleasant to be around, even if he needed to watch what he said occasionally. It was Jet that was the real problem. Jet and his bipolar, stalker tendencies.  The Freedom Fighter had issues, and those issues were beginning to impede on Zuko’s issues. They were driving him crazy, slowly but surely.  Part of him really just wanted to not care and let himself actually be friends with the wheat-chewing stalker, but previous experience showed that that was most likely not a good idea in any sense of the word.  Besides, the scarred boy got had been feeling even more uncomfortable around Jet than usual, because there was that growing sense unhealthy attachment that practically oozed off the taller teen whenever he came within ten feet of Zuko.  And, loathe as he was to admit it, the firebender really had no idea how to get rid of his stalker without Sokka’s help.

With a growl, he shoved the mask away.  The bison would have to wait.  For now, he had a Freedom Fighter to take care of.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“Wow, the great and mighty Sokka sees fit to grace us with his presence today,” Toph commented, idly flicking her earwax.  The blind girl was seated on a cushion in the main room and the usual gloom she had been emanating since they came to Ba Sing Se was matched only by the sheer boredness she was now clearly experiencing.  Sokka was all set to ignore her, but then he noticed something odd.

“Are you wearing…makeup?” the watertribe boy questioned. 

“Yeah? What of it?”  And boredom was replaced by a sudden shift in temper, not unlike the ones he had come to expect from the moody Fire Nation prince he had been working with for some time now.  And, woah, weird thought comparing Toph and Zuko in any way. Clearly, he was beginning to get entirely too comfortable around the older boy.

“No, nothing.  You look…nice,” Sokka complimented.  It wasn’t a lie.  She did look nice. It just…didn’t fit her, the makeup.  _Katara_ was a makeup person.  _Suki_ was a _copious_ amount of makeup person.   Toph was a natural person, happily at home in a healthy coating of earth…earth of the uncolored variety (or maybe just the same shade of brown all over). 

…But if the earthbender decided that she wanted to be girly, who was he to burst her bubble?

“But, anyway, have you seen Katara?”

“Yeah, she’s—”

“Oh, hi, Sokka,” Well, speak of the devil.  Katara herself walked in, Aang hot on her heels, his adoring, wonder-filled eyes following her every movement, and reminding Sokka of the delicate situation he needed to address.

“You had sex with Jet, didn’t you?!” he shouted, pointing an accusing finger in her direction.  Well, that had certainly been a delicate way of easing into the situation. But then, it was sort of like a splinter:  you just had to yank it out sometimes.

“ _What_?!” Katara exclaimed.

“What?!” Aang echoed.

“Who’s Jet?”  Toph interjected.

“You did, didn’t you?”  Sokka snapped. “That night, you stayed in his room! The whole night! Didn’t you!”

“No! I…I…we just talked!” the girl protested. Fury was rising in her eyes, and Aang backed away from her slowly, sensing the impending doom.

“Wow, I didn’t even need to sense your heartbeat to tell _that_ was a lie.  So, was Jet your boyfriend or something?”

“He was _not_ my boyfriend!” And water lashed out at the blind girl, but Toph felt Katara move to bend and had a sheet of rock protecting her.

“You are in _serious_ denial,” Toph cackled.

“You had sex with him!  Tui, La, and Yue, how could you be so stupid?  How could _I_ be so stupid? I thought you were smarter than this!”

“Uh…guys?” Aang ventured, but was ignored in favour of the shouting match that was starting.

“Shut up, Toph!  And what business is it of yours anyway, Sokka?!  It was _one_ _time_. It was a mistake and I regret it!”

“You’re my little sister!  I’m supposed to be protecting you for dad; of course it’s my business! You can’t just go around sleeping with people—especially not people like Jet!  I mean, Spirits, did you sleep with Haru, too?!”

“Who’s Haru?” 

“Sokka…Katara…calm down!”

“How could you even suggest something like that?”

“Well, how am I supposed to know you if you go around doing things like that! With _Jet_!”

“I told you:  it was a mistake!”

“It shouldn’t be something you regret—it should be something that never happened!”

“Well, it did!  Okay? It _did_!” Sokka was expecting his sister to freeze him in a block of ice—he wasn’t expecting her to burst into tears and run out of the room. 

“Katara—,” he began, moving to go after her, but a column of earth sprung up in front of him as Aang ran out instead.

“Maybe you should let Twinkletoes handle this one,” Toph cackled slightly to herself, but Sokka still caught the sound and glared at the small girl—not that it did much good, what with her being blind and all.  “Instead of, you know, smashing a boulder onto her heart some more.”

“But she _had_ _sex_ with Jet!”

“…Well, it’s not like she had sex with angry ponytail, Fire Nation guy, right?”

Stunned silence hit Sokka so hard he thought Toph had earth bended at him again for a second.  Well…there had been that one time Zuko had kidnapped her…but, no, Katara would never! Well, he’d thought that about Jet, too, and look what had happened.  But _Zuko_ would never. That, at least, Sokka was absolutely sure about.  The prince was entirely too much of an awkward, shy prude to ever even think about using Katara in any way that wasn’t meant as some kind of leverage in his never-ending quest to capture the Avatar (although, to be fair, it was put on semi-permanent hiatus at the moment).

…And it was completely sad that Sokka was placing his faith in Katara’s semi-chastity on Zuko.

“No,” he finally responded to Toph.  “Zuko’s way too shy to ever even think about doing that kind of thing with Katara.  I don’t think he even knows how.”

And the blind girl was staring dumbfounded at nothing (although the look on her face was more than likely directed at him).

“What?” he protested, before a large piece of rock sent him flying out of the room.

“And you wonder why you just upset her.”

** TBC… **


	7. Shocking Realisations

**_ Once Upon a Teashop _ **

“I need your help.” 

Sokka turned from where he was grabbing fresh tea leaves off the shelf of the storeroom to see Zuko standing just inside the closed door, awkwardly shifting around.

“You what?” he asked, not quite sure he had heard correctly.

“Don’t make me say it again!” the volatile prince growled. He huffed and crossed his arms across his chest, turning his head away so that Sokka could only see the whole side of his face.  “It’s—Jet.”

“While I’m inclined to agree with you, I think he needs help more than you do…and that’s saying something.  I hear you’re the Blue Spirit.”  Sokka was about to snort at that, but the horrified shock that spread across his coworker’s face brought him to a pause.

“How do you know about that?!  Did Aang tell you?”

“Wait; it’s _true_?” Was his first response, quickly followed by, “You know Aang’s name?”

“ _Yes_ , I know his name! And _how do you know about that_?”

“Jet told me,” the watertribe boy responded offhandedly. “I mean, I thought it was his delusions, but—wait.  If you’re the Blue Spirit, that means you saved Aang.  You’re the scourge of the Fire Nation and all that. Wow, you really _are_ a traitor, aren’t you?”

Zuko’s jaw twitched slightly, but instead of getting mad, he sighed.  “Don’t remind me. When did Jet tell you this?”

“Oh, this morning.  It was kind of weird.  I mean, I was just washing some dishes and he came in all randomly.”

_“I know Li’s secret.”  It was said with such a broad smirk and in such a lighthearted tone so different from anything Sokka might have been expecting to accompany those words that the Watertribe boy stopped what he was doing and dropped the dishes he had been washing back into the sink. Water splashed onto his shirt, but he ignored it and turned to face Jet more fully.  The older boy was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest, his whole body just exuding confidence._

_“Run that by me one more time?”_

_“I know Li’s secret.”  And now Sokka was just disturbed because that smirk had grown, and had a distinctly positive vibe to it rather than a more than slightly crazed one._

_“You, uh…you do?”_

_“Yup.  I don’t know why he tried to hide it from me.  Did he think I wouldn’t understand? I mean, I think I would understand better than anyone.  It all makes sense now.  How paranoid he is, how he knows you guys, why he doesn’t have any friends.  I really don’t know how I didn’t see it before. It’s so obvious.”_

_“And…you’re okay with it?”  Sokka wasn’t sure what Jet was talking about, but he was almost positive that it didn’t have anything to do with fire._

_“Okay with it?  Why wouldn’t I be okay with it? This is great! This just proves that Li and I are meant to be.  I never would have guessed that he’s the Blue Spirit.”_

_Sokka had paused before, but now he froze completely, an awkward smile stretching across his face as nervous laughter bubbled out of him.  “Heh. Heh heh.  Heh heh heh.  Yep, that’s our Li.  Blue Spirit.  With the—mask. And the—swords. Heh.  Saving Aang from the evil Fire Nation! Yeah, that’d be him!” That was it.  The younger teen had it all figured out. Jet had snapped.  He had officially attained a new level of crazy heretofore unreached.  “How’d you, uh…figure this out?”_

_“I was looking around his apartment and found the mask hidden under some floorboards.”_

“He was in my room?!” Zuko interrupted angrily..

“Please, _not_ done with the story yet, thank you very much.”

_Sokka blinked. Jet was even worse off than he thought.  “Right. Um.  I think I hear Ir—Mushi calling me. I’m just going to go see what he wants.”_

_“Yeah, okay.  I’ll finish these, then.”  Jet motioned to the sink and the half cleaned dishes there._

_“Um, thanks,” the watertribesman muttered, and hightailed it out of the room as fast as he could without making it look like he was trying to escape.  There was definitely a talk with Zuko that needed to be had if Jet was going around thinking the prince was the Blue Spirit.  But that could wait.  He had been slacking off lately, and while Iroh was surprisingly lenient in the amount of time he let the three boys skip and laze around, Sokka had noticed that he’d been getting paid considerably less the past couple of days. And the point of this all was to earn money for when Team Avatar finally left Ba Sing Se.  Besides, how else would he be able to justify buying that lovely necklace for Suki that he’d seen in the market the other day. She would take one look at it, and rush to kiss him again.  Or punch him.  You could never be quite sure with her…_

“I don’t need to hear about your girlfriend.”  Zuko had shifted during the story and now sat cross legged, leaning back against the door.  Sokka shrugged and plopped down next to him. 

“Well, she’s not really my girlfriend.  We kissed a few times, and she beat me up once, but then she kind of ditched me for the rest of her warriors.  It hurt.”

“I can’t believe Jet broke into Uncle and I’s apartment _again_.”

“I can’t believe _you’re_ the Blue Spirit.  I mean, honestly, what prompted that? That was back when you were still chasing us and everything.”

“I’m _still_ planning to capture the Avatar,” Zuko groused.  It wasn’t his fault that his plan to restore his honor had hit a minor glitch.

“I’m sure you are.  That’s why you _saved_ him the one time he _was_ captured and Katara and I weren’t available to help.”

“I had no choice!  And I don’t want to talk about that, anyway.  I need to get rid of Jet, and you know him better than I do.”

“If by ‘better than you’ you mean I know he’s crazy and you don’t, then, yes, I do.”  Sokka got a darker scowl in return for his failed attempt at humour.

“I just want Jet to leave me alone.  I don’t know what he wants or why he keeps bothering me, and I don’t care.  But if you help me, I’ll find the Avatar’s bison for you.”

“Back to the Avatar?  What happened to ‘Aang’?”

“Will you help me or not!” the prince snapped.  His arms were folded tightly across his chest, and he looked somewhat uncomfortable despite the glare he was shooting at the watertribesman.

“How do I even know you can find Appa?” That question was even deigned with an answer, and Sokka inwardly laughed at the pointed look he was given.  “Point taken. Normally, I wouldn’t trust you, but you’re surprisingly honest for someone whose evil. Also, Jet’s a manipulative bastard who I wouldn’t wish on anyone.  Except maybe Zhao or your dad.  Or your sister.  Um, no offense or anything.”

“None taken.  And, uh…thanks, I guess.”

“No problem, buddy.  I guess you weren’t kidding when you said that thing about him sniffing your clothes, huh.”

“No.  I wasn’t.”

“Well, in that case, there’s only one thing I can really thing of you doing right now to get rid of him.  I mean, you’ve tried killing him, and you’re not willing to let him get arrested.  I’d say just ignore him until he goes away but, well, Jet.  And you.  I’m going to suggest something that you’re probably not going to like. Don’t roast me for it.”

Zuko eyed him warily, and Sokka stopped and waited until he’d gotten a half nod to continue. 

“Hang out with him.”

“…You want me to what?”

“Well, the way I see it, you’ve tried just about everything else to get rid of him, right?  Short of telling him you’re Fire Nation, the only thing I can really think of is spending time with him and being your miserable self and letting him decide he doesn’t like you all on his own.  Or you could _tell_ him you’re a firebender and and actually _let_ him get himself arrested this time.”

Zuko’s scowl deepened.

“See, so that options out.  You know, for an evil guy, you’re entirely too nice.”

“I’m _not_ evil.”

“Yeah.  I know.”

There was silence between them that stretched on for a while, neither quite knowing what to say next.  Finally, though, the scarred boy broke the silence.

“Do you really think this’ll work?”

“No, not really.  So, what’re you playing for music night?”

“…What music night?”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“Wow, Jet, you seem to be in a good mood,” Smellerbee commented idly.  Longshanks, sitting next to the girl and directly across from their former leader, nodded his agreement. With Jet having moved out of their shared apartment back when they had stopped speaking after his near-fatal encounter with the Dai Li, the last three of the Freedom Fighters had taken to meeting for lunch at least once a week.  Usually they went for noodles of some kind, or something heavily fried and fast, depending on the overall mood of the group.  Jet took the time as simply hanging out with two of his oldest friends, but to Smellerbee and Longshot, it was when they checked up on Jet to make sure he was still all right.  At least today he seemed happy and not mildly depressed over Li ignoring him, making it a noodles day.

 “Yeah,” the boy responded, popping his wheat stalk into his mouth.  His voice had a slightly airy tone to it, like he was daydreaming again. “Li asked me out.”

Smellerbee gaped, noodles half hanging out of her mouth, as Longshot expressed his concern with his eyes.

“Okay, so he didn’t really ask me out—it was more polite than anything else, and Sokka’s going to come, too, but we’re going to the zoo together. That’s got to count for something, right?”

“The zoo.  He asked you to the zoo.”

“Yeah,” and there was that dreamy sigh.  “Although, we’re having music night at the Jasmine Dragon tonight.  You guys should come. It’ll be fun.  Also, it’s been a while since we’ve really hung out together.  It does sound like fun, doesn’t it?” Jet finished with a response to the message embedded in the look Longshot was giving him. 

“Yeah, that sounds great, Jet,” Smellerbee smiled.

“Cool, because Li’s definitely going to be there, and I feel like if he’s going to become a part of my life, you guys should really get to know each other.”

The two other Freedom Fighters looked at each other and sighed.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“Where are you headed off to?” Toph asked with a yawn, moments before Sokka made out the door without being noticed.

“Work, why? I mean, I told you I got a temporary job while we’re here,” he replied with a shrug.  His day-to-day watertribe clothes were replaced with expensive looking green robes of Earth Kingdom design, not that the blind girl could see that.

“Well, I know you’re not lying, but don’t you work in the day? It’s nighttime.”

“Yeah, but we’re having music night.  Actually, you should come.  Food, tea, music.  It’s supposed to be fun.”  While Sokka was trying not to alert Aang and Katara to the fact that Iroh and Zuko were in the city, Toph, who as far as he knew was still relatively unfamiliar with the two, could be trusted to keep silent about things like this.

“Eh, sure, why not.  It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.  And you don’t need eyes for music.”

“Not that you really need eyes for anything.”

“True point.  Maybe they’ll have the tsungi horn.”

“I don’t know, but Mushi did say something about being pretty good at it.”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“Music night?!” Zuko exclaimed.  “You didn’t tell me we were having a music night!” He glared at his uncle over the tsungi horn being presented to him.  “And I’m not playing that thing!”

“But Zuko, all employees are require to perform on music night. Sokka is playing the pipa, and Jet has so kindly volunteered to play the flute for us!  And you are quite good at the tsungi horn, nephew. I don’t know why you always refuse to play.”

“Fine, I’ll play the stupid horn!  But that still doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t tell me about this!”

Iroh smiled that innocent, conniving smile he made whenever he knew he had successfully manipulated his nephew into doing something the moody teen didn’t want to do.  The innocent look of it didn’t fool anyone, least of all Zuko.  “I could have sworn I told you, nephew. Must have slipped my mind.”

Zuko frowned and grabbed the instrument, storming off to go practice.  At least he had gotten _some_ warning.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

The Jasmine Dragon was already bustling with people by the time Sokka and Toph arrived, and the not so melodic sounds of someone killing a yueqin resonated through the open shop. 

“Geesh, I know it’s music night, but does that mean they have to just let anyone play?” The blind earthbender complained.  She made no effort to lower her voice, and Sokka found the two of them being glared at by a nearby noble-looking couple.

“Toph,” he began, turning to the girl, but was cut off when she shrugged.

“What? You know it’s true.  It’s like—oh, hey, Uncle!  Sokka, you didn’t tell me he’d be here.”  Sokka turned his head to see Iroh approaching them with an even broader smile than usual stretched across his face. 

“Hello, Toph.  It is lovely to see you again,” the old man greeted enthusiastically.

“Wait.  You guys, uh…you know each other?”  The boomerang boy’s head was whipping back and forth between the two of them as he tried to figure out what exactly was going on.

“Oh, yes.  We had a very interesting conversation over tea in the woods one day.”

“Did you ever work things out with your nephew?”

“Actually, I did.  He will be gracing us with a rousing performance of the tsungi horn tonight.” Iroh practically beamed as he said this, and when Toph shot him back a smile equally as bright, Sokka just felt left out. 

“I didn’t know he could play the tsungi horn,” he finally offered. “I didn’t know he could play _any_ instrument, actually.”

“My nephew is quite the virtuoso, in fact.  It’s a shame he doesn’t play much.” Iroh sighed, but didn’t lose his upbeat look.

“Weird,” Sokka muttered to himself. “Do you know where he is right now?”

“I’m not sure exactly,” the former general chuckled. “Knowing him, he’s probably hiding in the back to avoid playing.”

Zuko was, in fact, hiding in the back room, but contrary to his uncle’s belief it was not to avoid the tsungi horn.  Earlier, he had felt somewhat reassured by Sokka’s advice and approached his crazed stalker with the outstretched hands of, well, not friendship, but something much less like hate and annoyance and more like… _tolerance_.  Jet had seemed pleasantly surprised and hadn’t even wasted a moment to agree to go to the newly formed zoo (and also drop hints that they should leave Sokka behind).  It had been entirely expected but still slightly odd, though the former prince had steadfastly not backed down from the challenge set before him.

And then Jet had shown up with his two friends for music night, and Zuko had come to the stunning realisation that he had no idea what in all hells he was doing. 

“You know, I might be crazy, but I don’t think hiding back here was part of the plan.”

Zuko jumped.  He legitimately jumped and whirled around, barely restraining himself from slipping into a bending form as he came face to face with an amused watertribesman.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that, damn it!”

True to form, Sokka pretty much just ignored him.

“Shouldn’t you be out there being, I don’t know (and I can’t believe I’m actually saying this), _friendly_ to Jet?”

There was a long silence, made more awkward by the fact that Zuko seemed more put out than on the verge of getting angry.  Finally, though, the scarred prince responded.

“I, ah…I don’t really…know…how…”

“It’s easy!  You just have to go out there and pretend to be friends—or, at least, like you’re willing to be friends.”

And now the firebender was beginning to anger, and Sokka seemed to get what he was trying to relay. 

“Wait, so you’re saying you—really?  _Never_? No _wonder_ you’re so screwed up.”

“Well, it’s not exactly live I’ve had time to go around making friends the past few years!” Zuko snarled, crossing his arms. 

“Yeah, but, I mean, before you were—left home.  I would’ve thought people would be clamouring over each other to hang out with you, being who you were and all.”

“Actually, I think they kind of resented me.  Their parents forced them to hang out with me and be nice.”

“So you didn’t have _anyone_?” Sokka was openly gaping now, he knew, but he’d never considered anything like this before.

“Well, I mean, there was always Azula and her friends, and I hung out with my cousin, Lu Ten, until he joined the war, and my mother until she—,” Zuko cut himself off, shaking his head and unfolding his arms to run a hand through his ever-growing black hair.  “You said you would help me, so just do it!”

The younger teen grinned lightly, making sure to not let his voice sound anything but normal.  “Well, the point of this _is_ to make him not like you anymore, so just…go be yourself.”

“Just go be my—what the hell is that supposed to mean?” he exclaimed, but Sokka had already slipped out the door.  “Be myself.  Well, _myself_ is perfectly content to sit in here longer, at least then I won’t have to play that stupid horn.”

And, just to prove how much the Spirit World hated him, the door opened again, and his uncle walked in, tsungi horn in hand.  “Ah, nephew, I’ve been looking for you. You’re up!”

Zuko scowled, grabbed the instrument, and stormed out of the backroom.  Just because he had to play it didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. 

**_ TBC _ ** _ … _


	8. Music Night

Of all the things Jet had been expecting from music night, this was most definitely not one of them. 

“I didn’t know you played the tsungi horn,” he said by way of greeting.  Li, who had just exited the stage to a large round of applause, looked like he was about to throw said instrument on the ground as hard as he could. 

“You don’t know anything about me except what you may or may not think you found out by breaking into where I live and _going through my things_.” Now Li looked like he was about to throw the instrument at _him_.  Jet cleared his throat nervously and braced himself, Smellerbee and Longshot there as silent backup.

“So, uh…Sokka told you about that?”  The glare he received was slightly softer than his usual fare, so Jet pushed forward, joining the shorter boy as he walked away from the stage and through the bustling crowd.  “You remember my friends, Smellerbee and Longshot, right?”

Smellerbee waved. 

Li nodded awkwardly, a slight jerking motion with his chin.  “Yeah.  Hi?  It’s, uh.  It’s nice to see you again.”

“You’re really good on the tsungi horn,” the girl complimented.  “Where’d you learn to play?”

“Thanks, I guess.  My mother taught me.” 

“Your mother?” Jet reiterated, suddenly intrigued.  He’d never heard Li talk about either of his parents before.  It was always just about his uncle.  “Where is she?”

“She’s dead.”  There was a surprising lack of anger in that statement.  In fact, there was a surprising lack of any emotion in that statement at all.  Still, though, it was more than Jet had ever heard before, so he decided to push a bit.

“She’s—was it the Fire Nation?  Did they get your dad, too?  Is that why you came here with your uncle?” The sudden tic that developed in Li’s jaw indicated that Jet wasn’t getting anymore out of him. 

By now, they had reached the other side of the bustling teashop, and Li approached his uncle, returning the horn by unceremoniously dumping it onto the table in front of Mushi, Sokka, and a blind girl that sat with the two. 

“That was a very heartwarming performance, as usual, nephew,” the old man greeted, unfazed by his nephew’s surliness. 

“Who’s the girl?” Jet asked, sitting down at the table, as well.  Music night was, apparently, a serve yourself kind of thing meant more for fun than any real sort of income, so while Mushi had made them attend, there wasn’t too much for them to do beyond take their turn performing. 

“Oh.  Jet, this is Toph.  Toph, that’s Jet. You already know Li, you know, Mushi’s nephew. Toph’s Aang’s earthbending teacher.”

“Wait,” Toph began, a knowing grin on her face.  “Is this _Jet_?  You know, _the_ Jet?”

“Yeah.  Actually.  He works here, too.”  Sokka glared at the wheat-chewing older boy, but got a smirk in return.

“Hah!  Well, I’m not the one telling Sugar Queen about this.”

“Please don’t,” Sokka muttered.

“You don’t want to tell Katara about me?” Jet taunted, leaning across the table towards his acquaintance.  Surprisingly, it was Toph who answered, and not Sokka.

“ _You_ don’t want us to tell Katara about you.  I can feel her murderous rages three rooms away!  And that was just from one conversation about you, and most of that was not directed at Sokka.”

“Yeah, Jet, it’s probably best to leave that one alone,” warned Smellerbee.

“Why, what happened with her?” Li asked, and Jet gave a pleasant sigh inwardly at the confused look on his usually upset face. 

“ _Nothing_ ,” the dark-skinned teen snapped. 

Li shrugged and took a seat next to Toph.

“So…” Toph began, when the silence had grown a little too uncomfortable for the preteen girl.  “Nice weather we’re having.”

“It is, isn’t it?  Perfect weather for the zoo.  Speaking of which, Li and I are going this weekend.”  Jet directed a pointed look at Sokka.  Maybe he would get the point and leave the two of them alone, but then again, the watertribe boy had made it something of a personal mission to ruin Jet’s life (at least, the Freedom Fighter thought so).  Still, it didn’t hurt to try, and if he could somehow buy some alone time with the object of his affection, he would be one step closer to his overall goal. 

Surprisingly, though, it was the scarred teen himself who responded.

“Sokka’s coming, too, actually,” he commented offhandedly, purposely ignoring the snide look that passed from the Freedom Fighter to the blue-clad warrior.  “He’s the one who got the tickets.”

“Oh, yeah, you got those from Aang, didn’t you?” asked Toph.  “You know, he’s the one who relocated the whole thing.  Nice bit of earthbending, if I do say so myself.”  She looked every bit the proud teacher.  Jet blinked as he noticed the hand Li had resting on the table clench into a fist when the girl mentioned Aang’s name.  He looked up, to see an even more defined frown than usual on the scarred face, the other boy’s one brow furrowed darkly.  Apparently, he wasn’t the only one to notice the sudden shift in mood, because the earthbender spoke up about it suddenly.  “What’s your problem?” she asked Li, leaning into his space to pester him.

“Nothing,” he said flatly, not reacting to the way she was impeding on his personal space. 

“Well, che, _that’s_ a lie if I ever saw one.  And I’m blind!  So, what, do you have a problem with Aang or something?” Li’s fist tightened again, and Jet found himself surprised at how perceptive this blind girl was.  How did she even notice?

There was tense silence despite the loud noise from the crowd around them as everyone waited for Li to respond.  Mushi finally interrupted it with a forced cheerful laugh.  “Would anyone like another cup of tea?  The ginseng is especially soothing today.” 

“No, I wanna hear what his problem with Twinkletoes is.  I mean, I’ll understand.  He can be really annoying sometimes.”  She leaned more into the scarred boy’s personal zone, but was stopped when Sokka placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Toph, can I talk to you for a second?  _Over there_?”

“Fine, whatever.  Ruin all my fun.”

Jet watched them go, and contemplated following them to eavesdrop.  Whatever it was was most likely about Li, and he would take information about his mysterious future soulmate in whatever way he could.  However, before he could, someone else surprisingly caught his attention.

“So—Jet.  Have you ever…been to the zoo before?” It was awkward and forced, and sounded like having to make pleasant conversation physically grated on his nerves, but Li had actually directed a regular, conversational topic towards him.  Jet was not going to let this opportunity get away from him. 

Meanwhile, Sokka walked Toph through the sea of people, making a straight line for the storage room.  The dark-skinned boy made sure to lock the door behind him before turning to his friend and travelling companion. 

“Is anyone hanging around trying to overhear outside or anything?” he asked.

The green-clad girl shrugged one small shoulder.  “No, not that I can feel.  Why?  What’s the deal, Snoozles?”

“Okay, what I’m about to tell you:  you have to promise not to freak out about it, okay?  And you can’t tell Aang or Katara—they wouldn’t get it, and they might do something stupid and rash, and he’s really not that bad of a guy.”  Sokka knew he probably sounded like he was pleading, but he didn’t really care.  He also didn’t know why this was suddenly so important to him. 

“What are you even talking about?” the girl returned with a yawn.  “Just say what you’re going to say.”

“Li is actually Prince Zuko.”

Toph paused in the act of picking her ear wax with her pinky.  “You mean evil Fire Nation ponytail guy who chased you guys around all the time?”

Well, when she put it like that… “Um.  Yeah.  Kind of. But he doesn’t have a ponytail anymore. And his uncle, Mushi, is actually Iroh, the general who held Ba Sing Se under siege for 600 days.”

And why did the blind earthbender look entirely more excited than she should have at this prospect?  “So you’re saying the Fire Nation have infiltrated Ba Sing Se?”

“No!  Well, yes, sort of, but, no!  And why are you so excited at that thought?”  Really, that was a little disturbing, Sokka thought to himself as he backed away from the small girl—not that there was really much room for him to go anywhere in the tiny storage closet. 

“Are you kidding?  This place is so boring!  I need to kick some Fire Nation butt.”

“Well, they haven’t infiltrated.  They’re here as refugees, albeit unorthodox ones.”  Sokka waited for Toph’s reaction, and didn’t know whether to be surprised or not when she just grinned wide and leaned back against the door.

“I don’t know, this plan of theirs to conquer Ba Sing Se through the magical power of tea is pretty ingenious.  Have you had Uncle’s tea?  One sip and you’re dependent on it for the rest of your life.  He’ll have the whole world in no time.  Forget about Ozai, the real villain here is this teashop.” The boy laughed at this, but then she turned serious for a second.  “Look, I know why I don’t really care—I mean, I’ve met Mushi or Iroh or whatever before, and he’s a pretty good guy who cares about his nephew, and you don’t seem to be bothered by them being here, but that’s what I’m wondering about:  why aren’t _you_ bothered?”

Sitting on the ground and leaning back against the shelf, the watertribesman stopped to ponder the question.  “I…honestly don’t know,” he finally replied.  “At first I was all set to get out of here and tell Aang and do something about it, but I can’t really tell you what made me change my mind.  I mean, Zuko seemed a little desperate, which was kind of odd to me.  Curiosity, probably at first, but since then, well—you know that feeling when you realise that everything you’ve believed your whole life may not be entirely true?”

He glanced at the noble girl who was now sitting cross-legged across from him, seriously listening to what he had to say for once.  “Yeahhhhh—no.  Not really.”

“I feel like we spend so much time villainizing the Fire Nation as a whole that we’ve lost sight of the fact that they’re people, too, and some of them have probably been hurt just as much, if not _more_ than the rest of us.” 

“So, you feel bad for him,” Toph interjected surprisingly quietly for once. 

“Well, kind of, yeah.  I mean, I know more about him than either Katara or Aang because when he was chasing us, I took the time to find out as much as I could about him.  You know, know your enemy and all that.  That’s how I knew about his dad banishing him, and why I thought we should’ve left him at the North Pole.  Someone that desperate is dangerous and would do anything to capture Aang.”  Sokka paused and laughed slightly.  “Like breaking him free when someone else caught him.  You can’t trust someone like that, and I didn’t.  But there were other rumours, too, that I thought were just that—rumours.  Now, I’m not so sure.”

“What kind of rumours?” the girl asked, completely curious.  He didn’t mind, though.  He was just glad to finally have someone to talk to about everything that had been bothering him lately (well, beyond the stuff with Jet.  Aang was perfectly willing to sympathise with him over Katara’s unfortunate escapades in the woods). 

“You know, about his scar.”  Sokka casually gestured to his face, forgetting for a second that Toph was blind.

“…What scar?” 

“What do you mean what scar?  It’s giant, takes up half his—oh.”

“Yeah, great job there, Sokka.  Tell the _blind girl_ how easy to _see_ it is.”  Her tone was annoyed, but the earthbender actually looked more amused than anything else.  It was weird how much she seemed to like cracking blind jokes.

“Well, he’s got this big burn scar on his face.  Takes up most of the left side.  I used to just assume that he did it to himself in some firebending gone wrong, but I’m not so sure anymore.  I’ve heard a couple different stories, but the general consensus was that the Fire Lord did it.”

“Wait—so you’re saying his dad purposely burned his face like that?” Toph looked incredulous. 

“Yeah.  I mean, I didn’t believe it at first—because Fire Lord or not, what kind of dad would do something like that?—but then we met his sister, and found out that he’s wanted by the Fire Nation, too, now. I haven’t brought it up or anything, but getting to know Zuko, it seems a lot more likely than the firebending accident thing.”

“Wow.” 

“I know.”

“I guess I would be angry all the time if that happened to me, too.”

“Yup.”

“Well, yeah, so that’s why it’s probably best not to bring up Aang around him.  I think he’s still got Avatar-hunting urges buried deep down even though he’s mostly resigned himself to a life of tea-serving and bad leaf jokes and crazy, wheat-chewing stalkers, so it’s best if we don’t stir those tendencies back up.  I mean, he’s actually a pretty entertaining guy when he’s not trying to kill you.”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Zuko would never admit that he was nervous.  Well, okay, he might admit that he was  to Sokka, and maybe— _just_ maybe—to Uncle Iroh, but he would never admit to Jet that he was nervous, not even if his father decided to change the conditions of his banishment so that he could come home if he admitted to his stalker just how nervous he was at the thought of being friendly and making friends and all of those things that normal people did.  Okay, so he probably would if it let him go home, but he wouldn’t if it was the choice between telling Jet and letting Azula kill him, but only slowly and after revealing all his embarrassing childhood secrets to whoever might be around. 

So, really, he wasn’t _that_ nervous.  Sokka had been decidedly unhelpful in the advice department, and the former prince was now beginning to wonder if this plan had any chance of working.  Clearly being himself wasn’t the problem—or, rather, it _was_.  His natural inclination was to insult and/or assault whatever was bothering him, generally ending with a rather positive result.  Jet seemed to thrive in Zuko’s standoffish tendencies, and just used it as an excuse to do things most normal people—or even people as out of touch with society as the Fire Nation prince himself—considered a breach of privacy and utterly indecent. 

If there was one thing “Li” couldn’t stand, it was people invading his privacy.

That small detail didn’t seem to deter the bastard Freedom Fighter, though.  In fact, it seemed to only encourage whatever sick fascination Jet had, and instead of going away, the tall boy just hung around more and more, incessant and fervent, until one day Zuko happens to be talking to Sokka and finds out that the annoying, cocky, smooth-talking Earth Kingdom stalker had not only broken into where he lived (again), but had also found his hidden compartment under the floorboards and discovered something he doesn’t even think his uncle knows. Understandably, the firebender’s first instinct was murder, but that didn’t seem like it was viable option at this juncture.  People (namely Smellerbee and Longshot) might notice if their leader ever went missing and actually worry about the thick-headed louse.  They might even suspect Zuko’s involvement, as they were surprisingly perceptive at times, and that was the last thing he needed—any more attention of any kind being drawn to them at all.  It was bad enough that Uncle was practically a celebrity now.  News of his tea had spread even beyond the inner walls, all the way to the guards who practically lived on the outer wall.  They salivated at night dreaming of tasting the enchanted leaf juice they heard so much about, but disappointed as they were unable to leave their posts.  This kind of attention, while good in that it made people entirely less suspicious of a kind old teashop owner and his moody nephew than they might otherwise be, also drew attention.  And attention, when directed at the scarred young firebender, tended to be more negative in nature than positive (or kind of weird and creepy and only sometimes appealing when it came from girls his age).

So killing Jet was out.  Sokka’s advice was clearly crap because being his usual self had gotten him nowhere, and if there was one thing Zuko would admit to not knowing, it would be how to act comfortably in a casual social setting with other people their age. That was why, when Smellerbee started directing a lot more questions in his direction (Uncle had suspiciously fled the table to go take a turn on stage) and with a reminder to himself that he was supposed to be “friendly”, instead of getting angry and annoyed, he found himself flustered and uncomfortable, barely able to get anything out of his mouth without tripping over the words.  It was embarrassing, to be quite frank, and even more humiliating to be reassured by Jet’s easy smirk and teasing about how cute he was.

Zuko, the banished and scarred crown prince of the Fire Nation, did not like this at all. 

Jet had a motive.  If there was one thing the generally perceptive firebender was sure of, it was that.  As he watched the older boy respond to something his friends had said (though how Longshot said _anything_ was something of a mystery in his mind) with a casual chew of the wheat stalk in his mouth and big, open gestures, he made a catalogue of everything he knew so far about the person he had come closest to ever being friends with.

The most obvious thing on the list was the number one reason why Zuko no longer felt even a modicum of positive emotion or the barest inklings of trust towards the Freedom Fighter:  Jet was determined.  This, in itself, was nothing new.  The prince had met many determined people in his travels, not the least of which was the Avatar.  But Jet was determined in a single-minded, focussed, all-consuming-passion kind of way, utterly concerned with only one thing:  the complete and utter destruction of the Fire Nation.  Zuko had only known one other person in his whole life who had that kind of frenzied devotion to any goal:  himself.  He was probably the most aware of how unpredictable it made him at times, and he couldn’t let himself drop his guard around someone who had that same amount of focus put into destroying people of his culture.  It was also somewhat annoying to be on the focus of that kind of drive when it had nothing to do with being Fire Nation.  He actually almost preferred the days after the boat when Jet, feeling especially hurt and betrayed, had followed him and Uncle around to try and catch them bending. 

At least then it was easy to figure out what the hell he wanted.  Now, Zuko had no idea what Jet really wanted with him, and it was leaving him twitchy.

He was not looking forward to the zoo this weekend.


	9. What Happened at the Zoo

The past few days had flown by in a blur, and all three boys had been busy helping up about the shop.  Toph had stopped by a couple times to laugh at Sokka and sit around talking to Iroh, but she hadn’t stayed long, as Katara and Aang were already constantly wondering where their plan guy was disappearing to for hours at a time every day (the work excuse had only gone so far before Katara had started wondering _where_ her brother was working, and what Katara worried about, Aang did, too).  They did not need to start wondering where their token earthbender was, too. Jin had also finally shown her face at the Jasmine Dragon again, but the way she ignored Zuko’s attempts to speak with her clearly told everyone she was there strictly for the tea and not the boy.  Even Smellerbee and Longshot had finally given in to Jet’s pestering and come around, drawn back by the delicious tea they had had at music night.  Sokka himself had spent most of the week sitting back and watching what was so far promising to be the most entertaining show he’d seen since entering Ba Sing Se unwrap before him.  “Li” had consisted in his efforts to be nice to the Freedom Fighter, and Jet had spent the rest of the week fluctuating between amused, enthralled, creeped out, and terrified for his life.  Still, though, his pursuit was relentless, and no matter how unnerving the fake smile that decorated the other waiter’s face, the obsessed, wheat-chewing boy was always there waiting for Zuko after work and trying to let the other boy agree to walk home together.  To Sokka, it almost seemed as if his plan might be beginning to backfire, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he tossed it out into his mental tundra, letting his mental snow white it out before he could even begin to fully process it.  His plans didn’t fail.  Ever.  Except when they did, of course (and a lot of those times had involved Zuko in some way), but those times didn’t count.

Finally, though, the day had arrived.  The three boys stood on the platform as they waited for the train to arrive, content to ignore the few people bustling around them.  Or, at least, two of them were content.  Zuko was twitchy and jumpy, and kept constantly glancing around them, although whether it was from nerves or paranoia (or a combination of both), Sokka couldn’t tell. 

“Calm down, Li,” Jet grinned, plopping an arm over the younger teen’s shoulders. “It’s just the zoo.  We can get to more later.” The black-haired firebender stiffened, and the next second found the Freedom Fighter’s arm twisted up behind his back, his shoulder pulled to an uncomfortable angle.  Sokka’s own shoulder twinged just watching it, but he didn’t dwell much on it.  Jet did deserve that and so much more, after all, even if the smug bastard kept on grinning that irritating, cocky grin the whole time.

“ _Don’t touch me,_ ” Zuko growled, and for a split second Sokka wondered if this was going to be the end of the prince’s attempts at playing nice.  But then, only somewhat surprisingly, the Fire Nation boy let go of his companion’s arm, and went back to how he’d been standing before: glaring at everything that walked by with his arms folded tightly across his chest.  What did surprise both of the other boys was what came next.  “…Sorry.”

The one good thing to come from that was that an actual apology had seemed to stun Jet into sudden silence. It was, unfortunately, ruined by all things that hate Sokka (or maybe Zuko, who seemed to have an even worse streak of luck), as the train to the inner wall chose that moment to pull up in front of them, and the crowd of people piled off, shuffling around all three boys. 

“Well, here goes,” Jet announced, and for a second a look crossed his face, one that showed he was contemplating doing something exceedingly stupid (and quite possibly suicidal).  Whatever it was, though, the look passed, and the tallest of the three strode confidently forward into the stone car.  Sokka and Zuko exchanged a look, and then, with a shrug from the watertribe boy, joined Jet. 

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

The first thing Jet noticed when they arrived was the ungodly stench that permeated the whole area.  It was a foul, putrid smell that clearly reflected animals and their droppings, and no one cleaning them up—and this was _after_ the zoo had apparently been fixed up?  The Freedom Fighter would’ve hated to visit this when it was still stuck behind the inner walls.  It also seemed he wasn’t alone in this opinion.

“Aww, gross, animal poo,” Sokka groaned the instant they stepped foot through the newly built gates. He slapped a hand over his nose and wiped away the water that was beginning to leak out of his eyes from the stench. “Spirits, you would think a zoo this new could do something about the smell!  Probably, this is why they ended up losing business _inside_ the city.”

“It’s not that bad,” Li muttered with a shrug, pointedly looking away when they stared at him in abject disbelief.

“Not that bad?” Jet raised an eyebrow as he asked.  “This place is disgusting.  Is there even anything that smells worse than this?”

“Burning flesh,” he returned deadpan, and so straightforward that the other two did not know how to take it.  Sokka had a slightly horrified look on his face, and Jet felt a tad sick at the thought.  Neither could quite avoid glancing at the healed burn.  Seeing that, Li sighed.  “It was a joke.”

Jet laughed nervously.  “Yeah.  Uh…good one…”

Sokka just shook his head and patted the scarred boy on the back.  “It was a good try, but why don’t you just leave the joking to me?”  Li actually looked put out at that suggestion, and if Jet did not know any better, he would say that his co-worker was actually pouting.  It wasn’t something he could dwell on, though, because Sokka quickly continued.  “Well, come on, guys.  I want to go see the Sabretooth Moose Lions! You know, I met one in the wild once.  It was the cutest little thing.  Foofoocuddlypoo.  I miss you… Granted, then its mother came, and that was a little more scary considering I was stuck in a crack and couldn’t move, but, you know, Toph came along eventually, and it all turned out good.”  As the watertribesman continued to babble about his adventures, Jet took the opportunity to sidle up close behind Li. 

“Nice view, though, isn’t it?”  The Freedom Fighter commented lowly, his lips barely an inch from the perfectly formed, unblemished pale ear.  Instead of getting an elbow in his gut like he had been expecting (and prepared for, being in the other waiter’s personal space uncaringly after all), Jet was pleasantly surprised when the other boy just nodded instead, staring out at the simply yet efficiently designed landscape.  It really was quite pretty to look at, the way the animals roamed around their...well, not so much cages and pens, considering how Aang had apparently built the whole thing with earthbending, and all the animals were confined to their own location by cleverly placed walls of land.  The ebb and flow of the hills and dips in the land reminded Jet of water, in a way, only more solid and unmoving, but the way the sunlight glittered across the grass made everything look brighter and more cheerful out here, outside of the main part of the city, especially with the small amount of people around.  There was a crowd, yes, as there had been since the zoo had been rebuilt a few weeks ago, but it was a relatively tiny one and comprised mainly of children and their parents.  Still, though, it was nothing compared to the overbearing stuffyness of the Lower Ring, where one could not take even a step outside their own door without running into some other ragged, unfortunate refugee who had not been able to (and, most likely, would not ever) find a job since they arrived and had taken to sleeping in the street like some sort of slothrat, appearing as giant lumps lining the paths through the city.  The Middle and Upper Rings were not nearly as bad, but the Middle Ring was still fairly crowded, even if the conditions were much more bearable.  The Upper Ring was the easiest place to get around, and with the way the rich seemed to ease through the streets the way they eased through life, it was much easier to think that there were a significantly fewer amount of people there, even if it was mainly only the bustling that had been reduced.

“You ever been to the zoo before?” Jet asked next, making sure to grip the belt he was wearing tightly in his hands.  The wheat-chewing boy was absolutely sure that if he were to touch the object of his desire right now, he would end up with far worse than just a sore shoulder.  Li seemed edgy today, for some reason—at least, much edgier than normal. 

“Yes,” the scarred boy finally responded, a jerky nod to accompany his voice.  “Once.  With my mother.  It was a long time ago, though…and far away from here.”  That was the second time this week Jet had heard the other teen refer to his mother, and he noticed the way the other’s voice softened a bit.  It was quieter, and without that underlying current of anger that seemed to infuse even Li’s most calm tones.  Despondent was most likely a good candidate for the way he spoke about her—and an accurate description of the short sigh the waiter released.  Jet straightened up, and stepped out of the other boy’s space before saying anything else.

“You must have really loved her.” 

Li turned to face him at that.  His lips were half open in a look that was a cross between genuine surprise and wariness as his gold eyes locked with Jet’s brown. “Yeah,” he muttered.  “Yeah, I did.”

“—Are you guys even listening?” Sokka suddenly interrupted. “I mean, this was a really traumatic time in my life.  I almost got killed by a crazed mob of Avatar fangirls!”  Li rolled his eyes irritably, and the moment was lost.  Jet scowled internally for a second before he contemplated how best to turn the situation in his favour.  

“Hey, Sokka,” he began evenly, “You lost your mother to the Fire Nation, too, didn’t you?”

“…What about it?” the blue-clad boy questioned warily, suddenly on the defensive.  He was shooting a dark look at Jet which would not have usually bothered him had not Li also suddenly started glaring again in his direction. 

“Oh, nothing.  Just saying, we’re all three boys here who lost our mothers to the Fire Nation.  Kind of have a lot in common, don’t we, Li?”  Jet smirked, and continued before the scarred boy could get the ‘No’ in that they all saw coming.  “I mean, I lost my mother to the Fire Nation, you lost your mother to the Fire Nation, Li lost his mother to the Fire Nation.  I lost my dad to those bastards, you haven’t seen your dad in two years because he’s off fighting them, and…what, uh…what about your dad, Li?”  The tall Freedom Fighter turned to look at the object of his desires.

Sokka’s eyes widened imperceptibly.  Zuko’s lips had tightened, and he had gone from reminiscent to irritated in less time than it took Momo to grab a nut.  Still, though, the brown-haired boy restrained himself from intervening.  As it was, Jet and Zuko were getting a little too close for comfort, and if one of these times the Fire Nation prince were to snap and seriously injure Jet, well, the situation would be dealt with and Appa would be Aang’s once more that much faster.  Remarkably, though, the volatile teen looked like he, too, was restraining himself as he merely rubbed angrily at the ruined part of his face and turned away, not deigning to answer that question. 

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I want to go see the Rabbiroos,” Sokka announced loudly.  His voice was filled with false bravado, and if the other two noticed it, they did not say anything on the matter (although, Zuko shot him a slightly grateful look when Jet’s back was turned—Sokka assumed it was a grateful look because it seemed less angry than the look he had been giving the ground). 

“I’ve never seen a rabbiroo before,” offered the prince hesitantly.  Jet looked genuinely surprised, but Sokka understood the sentiment.

“Me neither.  I mean, I have seen a lot of creatures since Katara and I left the Southern Water Tribe, but there are still _so_ many I’ve never even heard of that they have in the Earth Kingdom.”

“Wow.  I mean, they had rabbiroos nearby all the time where I grew up.  I mean, I get you, Sokka, but where in the Earth Kingdom are you from, Li?”

“It’s—it’s down south.  Near the Si Wong desert.  Closest to Omashu, I guess.”

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t get rabbiroos that close to the desert,” Jet conceded with a shrug, even as he followed his two companions to that display.  “Still, though, there’s nothing _really_ that special about them.  I want to see a Sabretooth Moose Lion.” 

“Did I not just say that when we first got here?” Sokka muttered under his breath.  He was not surprised when the tallest of the three ignored him (although, he was a tad surprised when Zuko basically just shrugged in response).  Still, though, with barely a word more, the three of them made their way to the rabbiroo exhibit. 

“Aww, look at the cute little babies in the mother’s pouch!” Sokka practically cooed when they got there, leaning over the wooden rail to try and get a better view.  “They’ve got—hey, is that someone’s pet?”

Zuko looked where the dark-skinned boy was pointing, but before he could respond, he felt a tugging on his arm.  Glancing back, he found his resident stalker standing entirely too close for comfort again, especially as Jet leaned over to whisper in his ear.

“Come on, Li, I have something I want to show you.”  He glanced over to Sokka, but Jet continued, “It will only take a second—we don’t need to bother him.”  The black-haired firebender narrowed his eyes dubiously, but after a moment’s contemplation decided to just go with it.  He was supposed to be being _friendly_ , after all.  Besides, it was not as if he could not beat Jet in a fight should it come to it.  That night so long ago when Jet had attacked him and Uncle at the teashop lingered in the back of his mind, along with the knowledge that Jet fully knew he would get beaten should violence of any kind be the result of skipping out on Sokka like this.  So he nodded, and allowed the taller boy to grab his hand and lead him away from the rabbiroo pit and through the winding crowds. 

The crowds seemed to thin out as they walked further, and the people they did stumble across seemed to be heading in the opposite direction.  Zuko frowned because he knew they were not heading towards the exit—in fact, they were going in almost the exact opposite direction.  There were only a couple more animal pits this way, and he idly wondered what exactly it was that Jet wanted to show him or if this whole thing was a waste of his time.  Finally, though, the other boy pulled them behind some boulders and stopped, turning to face the prince with a broad grin on his cheeky, handsome face. 

Zuko blinked and glanced around, his head swirling from side to side.  There were more giant piles of stone to the left, the wall enclosing the zoo in front of him, and a surprisingly thin, mostly empty path around the boulders to their right. He dimly realised, “There’s nothing over here.”

“Yeah, there is,” Jet grinned, stepping around until Zuko realised himself to be unexpectedly trapped between the taller teen and the wall of rock behind him when he stepped back uncomfortably and felt stone digging into his back. 

“So, um.  What did you want to show me?” He was flustered, now, and nervous—his fingers seemed to have developed a slight tic.  The problem was not that Jet was up to anything usual—the problem was that this was _not_ the other boy’s usual mode of operation, and, as such, the firebender could not make heads or tails out of what the Freedom Fighter could possibly be up to.  The fact that Jet smirked in reply did nothing for the paranoid prince’s nerves. 

“Just this,” the tan-skinned boy announced, pulling the wheat stalk out of his mouth with one hand before leaning over and planting his lips on top of Zuko’s.

Meanwhile, across the zoo, Sokka looked up from where he had been rambling about the animals to realise that he was now alone, with neither of his companions in sight.

“Damn it!”

** TBC… **


	10. Chapter 10

The first thing Zuko noticed, upon his mind returning from a completely blank state, was that there was a tongue in his gaping mouth.  A tongue that was most fervently _not his own_ , but did not seem to realise that, if the way it was swirling around and exploring like it owned the place was anything to go on.  He made a noise of protest, but it was muffled by the extra appendage currently investigating where it avidly did not belong.  And, dear _Agni_ , it was touching places in his mouth he didn’t know he had.  _Why was there a foreign tongue in his mouth?_   Desperate contemplation did not provide an immediate answer, and, as such, the firebender responded accordingly.

“Ow!  Fuhk!”  Jet exclaimed, yanking his head back.  “You bhit me!”  The tan-skinned boy was holding his tongue out and desperately fanning the appendage even as he attempted to glare, and if Zuko hadn’t been so extremely agitated at the Freedom Fighter’s blatant _audacity_ , he might have laughed a little on the inside at how ridiculous Jet looked.

Instead, he punched him. 

The taller boy, not expecting the sudden attack, fell back, although his hands moved from his tongue to cup a now-bloody nose.  “What the hell, Lhi?!”

“What the hell? _What the hell_?  What the hell, _you_!  You _kissed me!_ ” The scarred boy shouted. 

“Yeah, ahnd?”  Jet snapped back, still obviously unhappy with the state parts of his face and mouth were now in.  “In case you hadhn’t noticed, I khind of lhike you, Lhi!   Godh!”

Zuko’s lips tightened as he narrowed his eyes, and in a surprising display of levelheadedness for his rage, restrained himself from punching his fellow waiter once more or releasing a cloud fire from his nostrils.  Instead, the former prince turned around and stormed back the way they had come, around the giant boulders, past the rabbiroos Sokka so desperately wanted to see, behind the rhinocolions, across from the Sabretooth Moose Lions where Sokka still stood (and, momentarily, he contemplated stopping and punching Sokka, too, just for the hell of it), and out the front gates, back through the city, and into the Upper Rings.  By the time he reached his and uncle’s small abode, he had calmed down marginally, although he still felt as if he were going to breathe fire at any moment.

“You’re back early,” Iroh commented lightly the moment Zuko stepped through the door, but the teen ignored his uncle and made sure to slam the sliding door to the bedroom closed as hard as possible.  He slipped cross-legged to the ground and took a deep breath.  There were no candles in the room (or, for that matter, the apartment, currently) for him to meditate with his bending as little as he could in this city, but the breathing exercises always did wonders for his temper—not to mention what sitting still for large blocks of time did for contemplating his life and existence and the Spirit World and all those fun things. 

Letting out the breath he was holding, Zuko forced himself to clear his mind.  Meditative breathing without producing fire was hard enough as it was when he was this agitated; focussing on the object of his ire would only serve to make it that much more impossible to calm down.  He took another breath.

Granted, listening to Sokka had probably not been the best course of action.  The watertribe “warrior”, as he called himself, was more than likely not that well adept at dealing with whatever type of situation this currently was.  Still, though, he seemed relatively adjusted and normal.  And he _did_ have past experience with Jet.  He was just…kind of an idiot. 

A new idea suddenly dawned on the prince, and he wondered why he hadn’t considered it before.  A wiser course of action would be to ask someone with actual life experience.  While Sokka might be more used to these type of situations (though, come to think of it, when Zuko had attacked the Southern Water Tribe, there hadn’t actually seemed to be any other people in their age group there), he was still at least a few months younger.  Zuko needed someone older.  Someone older who always had his best interests in mind.  With a determinedly unhappy frown no his face, the banished prince pushed himself up and walked back out into the living area, taking a seat across from where the old teamaker sat.

“…Uncle,” he began hesitantly.  “I need your advice.”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“What did you do?” Sokka demanded the moment Jet walked back into his vicinity.  They were currently near the tigerdillos, which was always a fairly empty part of the park. 

“What makes you think I did something?” the taller boy shot back, his usual infuriating smirk on his lips.  The watertribe boy took small satisfication from the fact that there was clearly dried blood around Jet’s nose, as well as a rather obvious bruise forming.

“Aside from the fact that you clearly got punched, there’s also the small detail of seeing Li storm out of here angrily a little while ago.”  And Sokka had definitely noticed that Zuko had looked like he was going to come and throw fire at him for a second, and that was never okay—especially not when the prince wasn’t actively hunting Aang at the moment.

“I didn’t do—ow,” the Freedom Fighter interrupted himself.  As one hand went to his mouth, realisation hit Sokka all at once as the older teen continued.  “I didn’t do anything.”

“You kissed him!” he declared in surprise, jabbing his finger out accusingly.  The few people in the area looked over at the two of them oddly at the announcement before suddenly the tigerdillo viewing paths were suddenly even more empty than before.

“Yeah?  And?” 

“Oh my—I can’t even— _You kissed Katara with that mouth!_ ”  The mental images flooding into Sokka’s mind were too much for him to handle, as he stared at the taller boy with the wheat stalk in his mouth.  The mouth that had just kissed Zuko.  The mouth that had _kissed his little sister_.  There were mental lines, and one had definitely been crossed, and the result was a word vomit that even the usually talkative boy could not have prepared himself for. 

“You know, if you want him to like you, you’re going about it completely the wrong way!  I don’t even know what’s worse; the way you were with Katara, or the way you seem determined to get Li _not_ to like you while being as creepy and pushy along the way as possible!  I mean, you know he asked me to help get rid of you, right?  He doesn’t even like me, but he _still_ likes me entirely more than he likes you, and that’s saying something.  Although, maybe not really because I don’t think he likes anyone other than his uncle—and he seemed to like that Jin girl before we ruined that—but that’s not the point!  The point is that your creepy, stalker ways do not need to be letting _anyone_ else kiss my little sister indirectly, _especially_ not him!  Just, no! That’s gross!”

Sokka paused as Jet blinked in uncertainty for a second before asking, “He really doesn’t like me?”

The facepalm was one of Sokka’s closest friends, but he hadn’t wanted to use it this much since the Cave of Two Lovers.  He gave in to the urge.  “ _No_ , he doesn’t like you.  You invade his privacy, invade his personal space, accuse him and Mushi of serious crimes with no evidence, attack him, _steal_ stuff from him, and then _don’t apologize_ for _any of it_ , and then you expect him to like you?  I knew you were a jerk, but, as much as it pains me to say this, I didn’t think you were _that_ much of an idiot, what with how you manipulated Aang and Katara so easily and tried to get rid of me back when we first met.”

Jet sighed and plopped down on the ground, leaning back against the dirt wall to the tigerdillo enclosure, and somehow the brown-haired boomerang-wielder found himself sitting next to his adversary.  “I don’t know.  It’s weird.  With Katara, it was so easy to get her to, you know, ‘ _like’_ me—no offense—but with Li it’s, like—maybe that whole false accusation thing?  I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.  I open my mouth to say the right thing, and something else comes out.  Or I do something that works with other people—like that kissing thing definitely worked on your sister—and he reacts all wrong.”

“First of all, offense is taken at you mentioning Katara.  Second of all, Li is _nothing_ like Katara.  Third of all, didn’t I already tell you that it won’t ever work out between you guys?  You’re too…different, I’ll say.  But if it makes you feel better, it’s like I said:  I don’t think he really likes anyone.  But in this case it’s probably not so much a matter of him liking you as him not trusting you within a two mile radius of his person.  And, really, have you even done anything to try and convince him otherwise?”

Jet brooded for a moment, the wheat stalk between his lips twitching up and down, before he grinned, slapped one hand on his knee, and then stood up.  “Thanks, Sokka.  You know? You’re right.  I really _am_ going about this all wrong.”

“Um.  You’re welcome, I guess.”  Blue eyes blinked as they watched the earth kingdom native stride off, the expression in them reflecting the dumbfoundedness the blue-clad boy currently felt wash over him.  _‘Did I just give Jet relationship advice?’_ And then, _‘Well, if Zuko didn’t want me dead before…’_

Shaking his head, Sokka jumped to his feet, heading in the direction of the exit to leave this weird day at the zoo behind him.  It took entirely too long to get back to the upper ring, and by the time he arrived back to his temporary home, the dark-haired boy was more than ready to spill his feelings to anyone he came across.  _‘I can’t believe I just gave Jet relationship advice!’_ he exclaimed mentally, as he stepped through the threshold.  _‘With Zuko! I mean, even if it weren’t Zuko, the most advice I should be giving him is stay away from people.’_

Luckily enough, the first person he saw upon entering the building was Katara, who made a point to glare at him, and then ignore him, emphasizing the fact that she was still not speaking to him, before then shouting, “Aang!  Let’s go put up more flyers!”  and storming outside of the beautifully decorated stone house to wait.  Aang came rushing out of one of the rooms a few seconds later, flyers in hand, with a quick call of, “Hi, Sokka!  Bye, Sokka!” before he was out the door to wait on Katara’s every want or need.  That just left…

“Hey, Snoozles,” the earthbender greeted.  She was spread out in her usual haunt on one of the floor pillows she had set up for herself.  “You look like you could use someone to talk to.”

“Ha ha, very funny, Toph. You know, sight jokes only take you so far.”

“Nope, they never get old.  So, what’s up?  Angry fire princes, ex-Freedom Fighters, Mushi?”

“Toph!  Don’t talk about that stuff here like this; you know the Dai Li are watching us.”

“See, that’s the thing about a city made entirely out of stone.  I can tell when there’s not a single person around, and the Dai Li agents watching us took off after Twinkletoes and Sugar Queen.”

“Oh.  Well, in that case,” and Sokka took a seat next to his faithful audience as he began to relate the events of the day.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“As much as it lightens my heart to finally see you make a friend,” Iroh began gently, pushing a cup of tea over towards his grumpy nephew, “I don’t think you really need my advice right now.”

“What are you talking about?” Zuko snapped.  “Of course I need your advice!  I don’t know what to do!”

“Quite to the contrary, nephew.  You know exactly what you must do,” the old man responded, taking a nice, long sip of his perfectly hot ginseng tea. “It’s like I always say:  ‘You must look within yourself to—’”

“I don’t want any of your stupid proverbs, Uncle!” the prince interrupted, a deep growl in his throat.  Frustration coloured his voice as he crossed his arms to shoot a steady glare at his uncle.  “I want you to tell me what I should do!  I just…I’m so confused right now.  I don’t know what to do!”

Iroh sighed, resting his cup back down onto the plate he had brought for it.  “The way I see it, Jet is a very nice young man, but he has some severe issues with the Fire Nation.  It is nice that you are making friends, nephew, but you know that pursuing anything further with Jet would be unfair to both yourself and Jet, and it would be built entirely under false pretences.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like I’m not already lying to him, even if I _were_ to consider even being his friend.  And—and I don’t even _want_ to do anything with him, anyway!” the prince announced, cheek red and face flustered. “I just want him to go away!”

“Whatever you say, nephew,” Iroh said with a small grin plastered across his face.  “Now, taste my new blend. I’m thinking it will be our new house special!  We can call it ‘Springtime Romance’!”

Zuko huffed and sipped at the tea reluctantly.  _‘Why did I ever think it was a good idea to ask Uncle for advice?’_

“Don’t worry, Li,” the old firebender began, and if hearing his false name come out of his uncle’s mouth in the privacy of their own home didn’t bother Zuko on an intrinsic level at the moment, he didn’t know what did.  “Things will sort themselves out for the best; of that, I am sure. I also know that you know what you must do.”

The gold-eyed teen just glared as he finished the tea, responded to questions about the flavor with a thrown out, “It's fine” and headed to the bedroom for sleep.  Lying in bed, thinking about what the next day might bring, the black-haired firebender found sleep a long time coming.  But, finally, his eyes shut and his breath levelled out, and before he knew it, it was the next morning, and Zuko was walking into the Jasmine Dragon, apron already tied onto his chest.

“Li!” he was greeted almost as soon as he walked in.  Jet stood right in front of him, wheat stalk gone from his mouth, with possibly the most serious look Zuko had ever seen on the other boy’s face.  His nose and eye were badly bruised, and it left the banished firebender with a sense of satisfaction that was most likely what made him more malleable to the darker-skinned teen’s next question.  “Can I talk to you for a second in back?”

Contemplating his options, the younger teen realised that by arriving before anyone working or ordering anything, Jet had pretty much just monopolized his time this morning.  “Fine,” he agreed reluctantly and allowed himself to be pulled by the arm into the back room.  Jet let go, and then moved to stand in front of him, a slight shuffle to his feet that spoke of nerves. 

“Look, Li, I—I got to talking with Sokka yesterday after you left, and I realised some things—some things you tried to tell me the other night, but I was kind of an ass and didn’t realise.  So I just, I wanted to apologize.  For real, this time.  I’m sorry for accusing you of being Fire Nation, and I’m sorry for attacking you, and I’m sorry for acting really weird around you, and for betting on your love life with Sokka, and ruining your first date, and invading your privacy and personal space, and for kissing you at the zoo yesterday, even though you’ve only ever done nice things for me.  But the truth is, I really like you, and it’s been throwing off how I act with you.  I kind of wish things between us could go back to how they were back when we first met—you know, on the boat to the city.  So, what do you think?  Think we could start over?”

Zuko blinked.  He…really hadn’t been expecting that.  His good eye narrowed as he assessed the boy in front of him.  Jet seemed nervous enough that it might be true, but, still, the shorter teen couldn’t be sure.  As he opened up his mouth to respond, Jet cut him off, however.

“Look, you don’t have to forgive me now or anything. I know I’ve been kind of an ass to you.  But even if you don’t want to, I think we should at least _try_ to be friends, seeing as we’re going to be working together for a while and all.  So, there’s this festival in the middle ring next week that I was wondering if you wanted to go to with me…and Sokka, too, of course.  I promise I won’t try to kiss you again.”

“You’re right; you _have_ been an ass, and I _don’t_ forgive you…but, fine, I’ll go with you.”  Somewhere deep inside, Zuko felt like he was making a bad decision as he said that, but that feeling tended to accompany most decisions in his life, so he had just learned to ignore it.

“Great!” Jet enthused.  “Okay!  Next week.  I guess we should open the shop soon, then?”

The firebender shot him with a look that clearly read, ‘You think?’


	11. A Really Great Day

The moment Sokka stepped through the threshold of the Jasmine Dragon, he had been able to tell something was off.  It wasn’t anything largely significant that told him, more something his instincts screamed into his gut.  If there was anything the watertribesman had learned in his life, it was that his instincts were rarely ever wrong (although, Katara and Aang would readily argue that point; Jet, too, although he had no basis for his argument.  Zuko probably wouldn’t care enough to answer).  Two minutes later, his instincts had been proven right.  Again.

Zuko had been looking at Jet, and he wasn’t shooting mental fire in the Freedom Fighter’s direction.   The firebender hadn’t been scowling, either, though—his brow was furrowed, and lips twisted downward, but there was no obvious aura of hostility.  And, clearly, from the relatively large number of people that had been sitting in the area Zuko usually served, Sokka wasn’t the only one who had noticed. 

Now, sitting and waiting for Iroh to get done counting the money to pay each of them, the unease from before was growing as he watched Zuko and Jet interact.  Or, rather, he watched Jet sit next to the other boy and mindlessly chat to him while Zuko sat there with his arms crossed, a lack of scowl on his face, and his head tilted slightly in a way that suggested he might actually be paying attention and not completely ignoring Jet. The unreal situation was offset by purpling around Jet’s nose and eye:  a blatant sign that there were things horribly not right in the world.

There was a sick feeling in stomach slowly replacing his instincts, and Sokka half-recognized it as horror, even as a frown formed on his face.

 _‘Oh dear Yue,’_ he thought to himself, _‘What did I do?’_

Because as annoying as Jet had been with his creepy, forceful efforts to get Zuko to notice him, the fact that Zuko did not currently hate the other jerk was indeed a problem.  Besides, if there was one thing Sokka knew from both recent and former interactions with the ex-prince, it was that Zuko was, first, a bad decision maker, and, second, an even worse decision maker when it came to his interactions with other people. 

Really, though, anyone who managed to befriend Jet—even if it was under false pretences and his true nature was quickly revealed, as was usually the case—was a bad decision maker.  There was a reason that Sokka was the plan guy of his little group, and not Katara or Aang.  And Toph was stubborn enough that if Sokka ever met his doom, she would take over as I-have-a-better-plan-than-Aang-or-Katara girl.  Although, no: Toph being in charge of plans would be just as bad an idea.  She was great in a fight, and had that whole ‘waiting and listening’ thing down, but she was entirely too stubborn, and liked the direct approach.

It had to just be a bender thing, Sokka decided.  That was why he was the most stable and sensible out of all his friends and the other benders he knew.  Jet might be crazy, but at least he always had things well-thought out, like the true non-bender he was.  He wasn’t flighty like Aang, or prone to acting without thinking like Zuko, or stubborn to a fault like Toph, or…watery, like Katara.  He was just crazy.    

Suki would probably be a better example.  There was a nice, normal non-bender who was perfect!  Sokka was sure that the Kyoshi Warrior always had a plan, and always made good choices.  She’d kissed _him_ , hadn’t she?  And she wasn’t crazy. 

 _‘Well,’_ the brown-skinned teen sighed to himself as he continued to watch Zuko and Jet. ‘ _At least Zuko’s not, like, smiling at him or something.  Then I know I’d have a problem. Not to mention, that’d be freaky.’_

A beat passed, during which Jet sidled closer to Zuko and the former prince turned his nose up and slid away so that the same amount of distance remained between them.  Sokka caught himself beginning to grin before he replaced his frown.

 _‘Okay, clearly I’ve been spending way too much time around Zuko if I actually care what bad decisions the jerkbender makes with Jet.’_ He paused.  _‘Hah!  Jerkbender.  That’s a keeper.’_

Finally, Iroh emerged from the backroom, money pouches in hand.  Quickly crossing the room, the stout old man approached Sokka with a broad smile.  Sometimes, Sokka wondered how Iroh and Zuko were even related.

“Here you go, Sokka,” the friendly old man said, handing over one of the small clinking bags.  “I greatly appreciate your help here; you really help out an old man.  You, too, Jet.” He turned to the Freedom Fighter, giving him his payment.  “And you, as well, nephew.” 

Zuko took what was offered, a mumbled “Thank you, Uncle,” under his breath.

“Anyway, I’m gonna take off now,” Jet declared, jumping to his feet.  “Smellerbee asked me to stop at the market and get some stuff from one of the vendors for her.   You coming, Sokka?”

Sokka blinked.  Zuko blinked.

“I’m sorry; what?”

Jet stared at the smaller teen, one extremely crooked eyebrow raised and he continued to chew on his wheat stalk nonchalantly.  “You heard me.  You wanna come to the market with me?”

Sokka’s lips turned down lower.  He narrowed his eyes at his sister’s ex and attempted to siphon off some of Zuko’s firebending in order to burn holes into the crazy freak as he inspected him.

“…Sure, why not,” he finally settled on, internally heaving a sigh.  The blue-clad boy really didn’t know why he did these things.  His life would be much simpler if he never agreed to anything ever.  He used to be like that, he mused sadly.  Life was so much easier then.  Just living in the South Pole, only worrying about food. 

Jet was already heading to the door, so Sokka pushed himself to his feet, turning to the other two males.  “Thanks, Mushi.  Li.  I’ll see you tomorrow!”  And then he strode to the exit. 

“You don’t want to go with them, nephew?” Iroh asked the instant the other two boys were out the door.

“Spirits, no,” Zuko groaned, running a hand over his face.  “I think this has been the most exhausting day since we got to this stupid city.”  The scarred teen didn’t miss the raised eyebrow directed his way, and he scowled, crossing his arms.  “What?!” he demanded.

“Oh, nothing,” replied Iroh, in the tone that always read ‘There’s definitely something, but I don’t feel like sharing because it’s about you.  Would you like some tea?’  “Have you thought about what I told you?”

“…Yes,” he admitted, grunting the word out.  “But I don’t want to be friends with Jet.”

“You two seemed pretty friendly today,” the old man teased. 

Zuko didn’t answer.  He just frowned more, his arms tightening.  “Things were so much easier before.  Why can’t they just go back to how they used to be?”

“Before what?” Iroh asked, claiming the seat next to his troubled nephew.

“I don’t know,” he snapped.  “Before the North Pole.  Before we came to this spirits-damned city.  Before, back when we were on the boat.”

Iroh was silent for a second.  And then he placed a hand reassuringly on his nephew’s arm.  “Change is a part of life, Zuko.  In fact, there’s an old saying that goes—”

“I don’t want one of your sayings, Uncle!”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“You know, I really have to thank you for your advice, Sokka,” Jet grinned.  There was a taunt in that, Sokka knew it, and Jet was just waiting for him to rise to it.

“You’re welcome,” Sokka finally said.    

“You were completely right.  I’ve been doing everything wrong.  I apologized to Li, and he agreed to go with me to this festival they’re having in the middle ring next week.  I mean, he said you should come, too.  But it’s still basically a date.  You’ll just be like a third wheel.”

And now Sokka was twitching.  Today had been a great day for Jet, and the opportunity to grate on Sokka’s nerves was just the sugar in the tea. 

“What type of festival?”

Jet wanted to grin.  He really did.  Instead, he just shot the younger boy a slightly disbelieving look.  “A beer festival,” he replied.   His tone clearly read, _‘Obviously.’_

Sokka stopped in his tracks.  Jet had to backpeddle a bit to fully grasp the other boy’s response, hoping he hadn’t missed anything.  Luckily, the part of the city they were in was relatively quiet, only a few people passing by the nicely blocked-off stream they were walking next to. 

“Wait.  You invited _Z-Li_ to a _beer festival_.  And he _agreed to go_.”

“Yeah,” Jet said.  “You were totally right about it having nothing to do with him not liking me.  I apologised, and now we’re good.”

“I want to say I’m surprised that you actually apologised, but I’m not.  You would definitely apologise to get what you want.”

Jet glared at Sokka.  While it was true that he wasn’t always above getting people to do what he wanted, whether by withholding information or telling them just what they wanted to hear, Jet had never once apologised for something he wasn’t in the wrong about.  If getting on people’s good side was all he cared about, he would’ve apologised to Katara that day she left him iced to the tree.  It wasn’t like he needed her anymore or anything, but making enemies outside of the Fire Nation wasn’t ever Jet’s goal. 

So what if an apology really was what Li had been waiting for?  Jet knew he hadn’t always been in the right.  He’d been feeling like apologising for ages now.  He’d _tried_ to apologise that night on the roof, but it hadn’t quite…come out.  It was a bit weird that it had been Sokka who had prompted the sudden apology, but other than that, this was all Jet.  He was determined to make Li like him.  If apologising was what it took, then apologising was what he did.  But only because he really had done some inappropriate things.

“I only apologised because I was wrong.  I mean, I did accuse him of being Fire Nation and try to get him arrested.”  And he hadn’t actually apologised for that one until this morning, despite the fact that he knew he needed to. 

Sokka was still staring at Jet doubtfully.  He opened his mouth to respond, when all of a sudden he was interrupted.

“Sokka— _Jet?!_ ” 

The Freedom Fighter turned around to be met with a sudden, all-too familiar blast of water that sent him flying backwards.  Katara.  Right.  Just what he needed right now.

“Sokka!” The girl demanded as she stormed forward, one hand ready at the water pouch to attack again.  Aang followed behind her, a confused look on his face, trying to calm her down even as she turned on her brother. “What is Jet doing here, and _why are you talking to him?!_   Is this why you were…were… _accusing_ me of things the other day?  How long have you known about this!  Why didn’t you tell any of us?!”

Sokka lifted his arms to pacify her.  “Well…Toph knows.  I mean, we’ve kind of been…working together?  At the teashop I got a job at?”

“You told _Toph_ , but not _me_?!”  And, okay, she was angry.

“Maybe you should give him a chance to explain,” Aang tried, tugging on the waterbender’s arm. 

Jet pushed himself up, trying to wring the water out of his clothes as he cautiously approached the girl.  “Katara, wait! I’ve changed!” he tried, but the girl whipped around and, with a shriek, sent him flying again. 

“Katara!” Sokka exclaimed.  “Calm down!”

“Calm down?  _Don’t tell me to calm down!_ You’re the one hanging around _Jet_!”

“Yeah, and do you think I’d be hanging around him if I thought he was up to no good?”

“But it’s Jet!” she insisted, and then turned to Aang.  “Well?” she demanded.

“Um…,” the twelve year old replied, rubbing his hand over his bald head.  “Normally, I might be inclined to agree with you because it’s Jet, but I think we should at least trust Sokka.  I mean, his instincts were right about Jet last time, weren’t they?”

Right now, Sokka’s instincts were still screaming that Jet was no good, and completely a problem—but just for Zuko. 

“Thank you, Aang,” Sokka said. 

“I can’t believe you’re taking his side!”

“Well, are you going to keep shouting, or are you going to listen to me?”  Sokka snapped. 

Katara crossed her arms and glared.

“You both know I trust Jet the least out of all of us.   But he’s really not up to anything here.  He’s just trying to start over.”  _‘And get into Zuko’s pants,’_ he added mentally.

“I really have changed,” Jet piped up, and _that_ Sokka didn’t believe. “I’m sorry about the way things went down between us last time.”

“I don’t believe you,” Katara hissed.  “Aang, I’m going to go put posters up over there, if you need me.”  And then she stormed away. 

“Posters?  What’re you putting posters up for?”  Jet asked.  Aang’s face fell, and Sokka sighed. 

“We lost Appa.  That’s why we’re in Ba Sing Se, actually.  We’ve been trying to find him, and we know he got sold around here,” he said. 

“Well, if it helps, I’ll be on the lookout for any news.  I mean, it’s got to be kind of hard to hide a flying bison in the city.”

“Thanks, Jet,” Aang replied.  There was a large crashing noise from in the distance where Katara had run off, and the air nomad winced a bit.  “I’m going to go make sure Katara’s okay.  Bye, Jet.  See you, Sokka!”  And then he was off.

Sokka and Jet stared at each other for a few seconds, before Jet broke the silence.

“So, about that festival next week.”

Sokka snorted.  “Right.  You really think I’m going to let you take Li to a beer festival without me?  Does he even _know_ it’s a beer festival?”

“Of course he knows.”  Somehow, Sokka didn’t believe that.  Zuko didn’t seem the type to willingly subject himself to a beer festival, much less one where he had to endure Jet’s company for any duration of time.  But then again, Zuko was full of surprises.  “But I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“I don’t.  But I also know you, and like I said before:  this is just going to end badly.  For both of you.  So you should really stop.”  Another loud noise came from that same direction, and Sokka huffed.  “I’m going to make sure my sister isn’t causing any sort of massive public destruction.  I’ll see you tomorrow or whatever.” 

Jet watched as the other boy ran off.  He smirked around his wheat stalk.  Today had definitely been a great day.

_**TBC...** _


	12. Bad Decisions

In life, there were bad decisions, and then there were _bad decisions_.  Zuko knew bad decisions intimately.  He made them a dime a dozen.  He slept with them at night, fed them first thing in the morning when he woke up, and all but skipped to work with them on a daily basis.  But the really horrendous, ridiculously bad, life-shattering, horrifying, terrible decisions?  Those came less often.  The prince still made them more frequently than a normal person, though, but not through any fault of his own.

It was always the small, docile, fluffy looking things that did it.  Tiny, insignificant decisions like going to a war meeting.  Breaking into the North Pole by himself.  Agreeing to go with Jet to the stupid _festival_.  The one that had been nothing but drinking.  Sure, it was some time-honoured way of appeasing some old Earth Kingdom sprits Zuko had never heard about before, but that didn’t make the point of it any less about getting drunk, even if most people were dressed up in garish costumes.  Yes, the currently banished prince was intimately familiar with bad decisions, but this last one was definitely the worst. 

And Zuko probably would’ve been torturing himself over that fact if he were in any state to string two words together in his mind, much less realise the implications of his actions yet.

 _‘Ah…Agni,’_ he thought, a slight whimper stuck in the back of his throat.  _‘…pain.’_

His head was pounding, like the Rough Rhinos had decided to practice their musical act in his head before it was ready, only amplified and combined with all the comfort of getting half his face burnt off. 

Sadly, though, Zuko’s internal clock never lied, and, no matter how much he tried to resist it, once sunlight hit his face and woke him, it was almost impossible for him to go back to sleep. 

It was strange, however, the way the he felt the light falling on his face.  He usually slept with his head closest to the window, so the morning sun would usually greet his lower half first.  It wasn’t anything worth contemplating, though, as his head still felt like a saber-tooth moose lion was trying to claw his brain out.

Forcing one gold eye open, Zuko blinked a few times to clear the blurriness from his vision. 

 _‘…Did Uncle redecorate?_ ’ was his first thought, as he stared blankly at the gaudily decorated wall in front of him. 

A low groan from behind caught Zuko’s attention, and he slowly and deliberately peeled his other eye open before compelling his sore body to turn over.  And then he froze. 

 _‘What in Agni’s name did I do last night?’_ he exclaimed mentally, and then winced, catching sight of a very familiar mop of brown hair snuggled a little too close for comfort behind him.  A feeling of despair grew in his chest when he suddenly realised the fact that there was an arm around his waist.  One not felt through layers of clothing.  As in direct, skin to skin contact. 

And…were those his pants in a crumpled mess on the other side of the room?

 _‘I feel dirty,’_ he realised faintly.  His body felt all sticky and crusty, and Zuko might’ve contemplated that fact a little longer if not for the faint traces of nausea that were beginning to well up in him.   

Gingerly, he removed the arm from around him, making sure not to stir the sleeping teen behind him, and stood up to collect his clothes from around the room as quickly and quietly as possible.  Normally, that would’ve been no problem for the boy who had managed to get into Pohuai Stronghold with nary a sign of his passing, but this…hangover, was it?...was leaving him sluggish and off balance.  Still, though, it was a matter of minutes before he had gathered all his belongings and pulled his clothes on in a rush, ignoring the rumpled, dishevelled state he was clearly in.  His bedmate still not aroused, Zuko took a moment to breathe a small sigh of relief before he pulled open the door and stepped through, silently closing it behind him.

 _“…Li?_ ” came a surprised voice from behind him, and Zuko whipped around to see that weird girl and the tall, silent boy that always hung out with Jet.  Damn it.  At least they both looked just as dazed and confused as he felt—albeit, minus the hangover.

“Uh…Smellerbee, right?  I, uh…I have to…um…” and that was it.  With his unscarred cheek probably even more red than his scarred one, Zuko bolted out the front door.  He wasn’t all too clear on whatever events transpired last night that led him to wake up _naked_ and _in bed_ with _Jet_ , but he was clear on one thing:

This was somehow all Sokka’s fault.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Part of Sokka felt the overwhelming urge to whistle as he walked to work, but a greater part of him was overwhelmed by a distinct feeling of foreboding.  His instincts were screaming at him that he had forgotten something important, but since he couldn’t remember what it was anyway, the water tribe boy just shrugged and kept walking, making sure to add that whistling to his journey. It was only ten minutes later that he realised he now had the Secret Tunnel song stuck in his head.

Again.

Damn it.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Jet had been completely unconcerned to wake up to an empty room, no sign of Li left behind.  He had just grinned to himself, satisfied with his life.  He _was_ waking up late, after all.  Even when Smellerbee and Longshot tried to question him over breakfast, he just slapped on that satisfied, lovesick grin he hadn’t worn since…well… _ever_ , really, and answered their questions without getting annoyed or defensive.  Walking to the teashop was actually rather soothing for once, and Jet took the opportunity to bask in the sunlight and enjoy the fresh breeze, even going so far as to stop outside the shop for a few moments to enjoy the day before heading into his workplace.

It was only once inside the Jasmine Dragon that Jet’s spectacular morning began to take a downward spiral. 

“Jet!” Old man Mushi greeted the moment the freedom fighter stepped inside.  The old teamaker stepped into the boy’s path.  “Have you seen Li anywhere? He has not come in to work today, and he never came home last night.”

“Uh, no, sorry, Mushi.  I haven’t seen Li since last night.  Although, we were out pretty late, so he crashed at my place, but he was gone when I woke up this morning,” Jet replied. “I…thought he’d be here already.”

The old man let out a sigh before shaking his head and bustling on his way.  Jet could’ve floated off the relief he felt at not being questioned any further.  Whether Mushi was a firebender or not, the Freedom Fighter got the feeling that his boss might not be too happy were he to find out exactly what happened last night. 

A sudden shiver came over the teen, and he turned around to find Sokka glaring suspiciously at him from across the room.  Jet frowned.  The younger boy looked like he wanted to walk over and say something, but instead, the water tribesman turned back to what he was doing and focussed on his work.  Jet shrugged, and got working, as well. 

It was during their afternoon break that Sokka finally came and confronted him. 

“What did you do?” he demanded all of a sudden as they stood outside together.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jet replied evenly. 

“You had to have done something.  Li doesn’t just _not show up_ like this.  And Mushi is worried, and I _know_ you had something to do with this.”

“I haven’t done anything.  Li’s probably just working off his hangover somewhere from the great time we had at the festival last night.” 

“Festiv—oh, no.”   Sokka blanched.  Jet smirked as he watched his nemesis reach conclusions in his head.  “Oh, _no_.”

“Yeah.  You really missed out, Sokka.  It was great.  Who knew Li was such a lightweight.”  Jet grinned wider as he mused about what happened the night before. 

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

_“Are you sure we shouldn’t have waited for Sokka?” Li asked.  Jet smiled to himself at the sight of that all-too familiar frown on the other boy’s scarred face.  The two of them had met at the teashop nearly half an hour ago, and after 15 minutes of waiting for Sokka to show up, Jet had suggested that maybe he was planning to meet them at the festival itself.  Li had shot him a suspicious look, as usual, before shrugging his agreement.  Jet had gotten the feeling that if Sokka hadn’t explicitly stated to Li his intentions to accompany them earlier that day, the cantankerous waiter would’ve ended their date right then and there.  Not that Li necessarily knew it was a date._

_Either way, it was clear Li was beginning to have second thoughts about accompanying Jet alone.  Jet didn’t mind, though.  They were already on their way to the middle ring, though.  It was highly unlikely that the younger boy would waste the money on the tram ride just to turn around and go back as soon as they stepped off._

_“Well, he said he was coming,” Jet replied.  “He knew what time we were meeting; the only thing I can guess is that he’s already there or running late, in which case he can meet us there anyway.  I mean, we’re a little late, as it is.”  They were running late, no thanks to Sokka, thus why this tramcar was surprisingly empty._

_Li didn’t say anything, which Jet took as a sign of acquiescence.  The other boy was surprisingly easy to read now that Jet was actively looking for the signs.  The past week had been surprisingly informative now that Jet was actually making the effort to care about Li’s feelings. It was a little hard to resist the urge to follow him around sometimes, but Jet had done it. He had even started backing off when the scarred teen started getting twitchy, a sure sign that he had had enough of being around the Freedom Fighter.  Jet had also realised that it was pretty much impossible to not irritate and anger Li, but that as temperamental as he was, he also got over it pretty quickly when Jet stopped bothering him for a bit.  There was also the heretofore unknown fact that the more space Jet gave him, the more likely Li was to actually hang around him._

_Jet highly suspected that Li would’ve just ended their night out when Sokka hadn’t arrived if this had been last week._

_As it was, the apology had done wonders for their relationship.  Jet almost felt like they were back on the boat again.  But with more people, beer, and Sokka._

_“So…what exactly is this festival for anyway?”_

_“It’s just a usual yearly festival to appease the earth spirits.  You’ve been to one before, haven’t you?  They have them everywhere; I’m sure they had them where you’re from.”_

_Li tossed Jet back a blank look._

_“You mean, you_ haven’t _been to one of these?  Where are you from, the_ colonies _?”_

_At the dark look he got from the other boy, Jet realised he had probably insulted him again.  “So what if I am?” Li muttered._

_“Nothing! I mean, I guess that would explain why you’re here in the city.  The colonies are fine.  I guess.  But that sucks that you’ve never been to one of these.  My parents used to take me all the time when I was little.  I mean, I couldn’t participate in all the beer drinking and stuff, but there are plenty of things for kids, too.”_

_“I guess…it could be fun…”_

_“Well, it’s not like you’re backing out now.”_

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

“We did wait for you, if it makes you feel any better,” Jet grinned at Sokka.  “Although, honestly, I should’ve guessed he was from the colonies.  Li is a little bit…odd.”

“Like _you’re_ one to talk,” Sokka shot back.  “The colonies.  Right.  That’s where Li’s from.  _Obviously_.  And I would’ve been there—and on time—but I forgot.  Katara was mad at me because of _you_ and made me stick around to help Aang search for Appa.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining.  I think the night was even better because of the lack of _you_ in it.”

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

_The hateful glare that Jet was currently receiving from the other boy would’ve probably concerned him more if he weren’t used to being on the receiving end of them._

_“This is a_ beer festival,” _Li stated darkly, now staring down at the cup clenched tightly in white-knuckled hands_

“No,” _Jet replied_ , _“This is a festival where people appease the spirits of the Earth Kingdom by consuming copious amounts of alcohol.  There’s a difference.”  Jet had already downed his first cup and was now staring at Li expectantly._  

_“There’s really not,” Li muttered, and Jet shrugged._

_“Well, if you’re not gonna drink it,” and he pulled the cup out of the other boy’s hands, downing it in one go, “You’re missing out on all the fun.”_

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

“You know, your story’s not adding up,” Sokka said.  “First you’re saying he’s a lightweight, but now you’re saying he didn’t drink anything.  At least get your facts straight—”

“I’m not done telling it, and he just didn’t drink to start with.  I mean, Li’s kind of easy to provoke.  Just tease him a bunch and call him scared, and he’ll get mad enough to do pretty much anything.”

Sokka opened his mouth in rebuttal, paused, and then shrugged.  “Yeah, that’s true.”

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

_Three cups in, and Li was plastered.  Jet couldn’t honestly say that he wasn’t a bit more than tipsy himself, but he was definitely doing better than his companion, he noted as he pulled Li out of the way before the other boy tripped over some costumed kids and started laughing hysterically again._

_“Oh—oh, god—spirits—I wanna—I need another one!” the scarred boy declared, eerily grinning at Jet before breaking out into another fit of laughter.  It was extremely disconcerting seeing Li smile so broadly like that, as opposed to shooting everyone with pointedly dark stares, and Jet decided that he definitely needed another one, too._

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

“You are a horrible human being, you know that?”

“You make it a point to remind me every day.”

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

_Jet had been thinking about it.  He’d been staring at Li and thinking about it all night.  He’d been thinking about it for much longer than just tonight, in fact.  Which is why it definitely took his slow-moving brain a second to recognize what was happening when Li leaned over and planted a big one on him.  It was wet and sloppy and felt like the black-haired teen was trying to slobber on Jet’s face, and part of his mind could only think, “Ewww, gross!”, but, thankfully, the larger part of his mind was in charge, and decided to try and kiss back properly.  When they finally came up for air, Li started laughing again._

_“I’ve been con…contimpl—contampl...that since the zoo,” he giggled, leaning over again._

_The Freedom Fighter eagerly leaned in for the kiss, as well, and when they separated this time, Jet grinned, too._

_“We should prolly…prolly go somewhere,” he said, and they were making out again._

_“Mmhmm,” was Li’s only response._

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

“So then we went back to my place and did it,” Jet finished with a shrug.  His cocky grin belied his casual attitude, though. 

“Did what?”

“You know… _it_.”  This time, a blatant leer accompanied his words.

Sokka wanted to punch him.  Again.  It was always strangely fulfilling, punching Jet in the face.  This time, though, he restrained himself.

“You completely took advantage of him!” the watertribesman exclaimed. 

“Hey, I was drunk, too!” Jet protested.

“And you would’ve done exactly the same thing even if you weren’t!”

A pregnant pause followed Sokka’s statement, as the Freedom Fighter chewed his wheat stalk in contemplation.

“Well, no, probably not _exactly_ the same thing.”

Sokka wanted to scream in frustration.  Instead, he took a deep, calming breath.  “I am going to go back to work,” he said.  “And I am going to ignore everything that you just told me for the sake of my sanity.  And whenever Li does show up, feel lucky if he _doesn’t_ decide to try and kill you.”  And then he got up before Jet could say something to make him more annoyed.

Sokka had completely figured it out, though.  Jet’s whole problem. There were invisible lines, everyone knew that.  Lines that people just shouldn’t cross.  Jet just didn’t understand anything about boundaries.  Which is why Sokka still couldn’t understand why he had fixated on Zuko of all people.  Zuko was all about boundaries.  The brown-haired boy had heard a saying once: No man is an island.  Zuko did his damndest to prove that saying false—he might’ve succeeded, actually, if he weren’t so dependent on his uncle.

With a sigh, Sokka put those thoughts out of his mind.  Somehow, this was all going to turn into his fault.  He just knew it.

** TBC… **


	13. A Boy Could Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, two chapters in one week. I'm on a roll.

Sokka wasn’t surprised to be waylaid on his way home from the teashop.  What was surprising was that he was not in any way attacked, burned, sliced, or even shouted at by the clearly upset other boy. He was just calmly pulled down some remote alleyway and yanked around for a good while before being dragged into an abandoned building. In fact, Zuko seemed kind of…passive.  Well, for him anyway.  Sokka frowned.  That couldn’t be a good thing.  That could only prove Jet’s story as true.  Which after half a day of contemplation, Sokka had decided to be partial exaggeration, and deluded drunk dreams on Jet’s part.  Even a drunk Zuko couldn’t possibly be that stupid.

“I have a slight problem,” Zuko announced.  His face was flustered, and there wasn’t a hint of anger in his slightly quivering voice.  Only despair and a shade of what Sokka recognized to be nerves.

“You didn’t murder anyone, did you?” The watertribesman asked lightly.  He wasn’t entirely sure what he was expecting to come from Zuko’s mouth, but from the way his friend was acting, it was clearly way more serious than normal—and serious in a way that couldn’t be dealt with through physical violence, which was strongly leaning towards a certain story Sokka was desperately trying to bleach from his brain, despite the overwhelming evidence that seemed to be shoving itself into his face.

“I slept with Jet.” 

Sokka winced.  He had been really, really hoping that Jet was exaggerating.  Once the initial disbelief from the guy’s story had worn off, all that was left was the unbelievable realisation that Zuko could possibly be a happy drunk.  And anyone who knew Zuko even from a distance could easily tell that the prince was never happy. 

“Please, _please_ tell me when you say ‘slept with’ you mean ‘slept in the bed next to’,“ the brown-haired boy begged, hoping to his very favourite moon girlfriend for this one last denial—all the proof Sokka would need to calmly put to rest this crazy notion of Zuko and Jet in any sense of the word that began and ended with naked.

Zuko was silent.

“Oh dear Yue, you _really_ had sex with Jet!”

“No!  Well…yes…but…kind of!  It’s really complicated, okay?”

“How is it complicated?  You kind of just insert a tab into a slot, and boom!  Not quite baby making!”

“What?  No!  There was no…no inserting of any tabs into any slots!  We just kind of _did_ _stuff_ , okay!”

“Spirits damn it, Zuko, that’s like you had indirect sex with _Katara_!  Oh, god!  My eyes! It can’t be unseen!  How in all the hells does that even happen, anyway? You’re supposed to be getting him to _stop_ liking you!” 

“Well, I mean, it’s not like I _asked_ for this to happen! We went out, and, I mean, it was a _beer festival_ , and it’s not like I really drink all that much alcohol usually, and then I think we were at his place and his hands were in my pants and—”

“Okay, stop right there!  Too much information!  Even _Jet_ didn’t give me this much of a play by play!”

“—and then I woke up this morning and we were, and he was, and I was, and you were supposed to be there last night!  This is _your_ fault!”  Zuko stopped for a moment to catch his breath before adding, “And what do you mean, Jet didn’t give you this much?”

“First of all: my fault?  I’m not the one who had stupid drunken sex with my crazed stalker!  And second of all:  _Jet_.  Of course he told me!”

“ _You’re_ the one who told me to hang out with him so he’d like me less!”

“I _also_ told you it wouldn’t work, and you should just firebend in front of him and let him get himself arrested for real this time.”  Okay, so, really, Sokka couldn’t remember whether or not he had actually told Zuko that, but whether he had or not, he had at least thought it!  It was Zuko’s fault the firebender hadn’t put it into practice.  “You’re the one who went all ‘evil guy with a conscience’!  Tui and La, Zuko, I can’t believe you actually _slept_ with him!”

“Hey, it’s not like I _wanted_ my first time to be like that, but it’s not like it was _that_ bad!”  Zuko, if possible, looked even more put out as he rubbed at his damaged eye. 

Sokka sighed.  This arguing was getting them absolutely nowhere.  The brown-skinned boy still wasn’t sure when exactly he had started thinking of Zuko as his friend, but the damage was done, and he actually sort of cared what happened to the prince now. 

“Okay.  So.  You had drunk sex with Jet:  damage done.  What do you want to do now?”

“I…I don’t know,” Zuko muttered, folding his arms angrily across his chest. 

“You don’t _know_?”  Sokka exclaimed.  “Wait—you’re not…not _changing_ your _mind_ about him, are you?”

“Look, I’m not saying I want to sleep with him again,” Zuko began, and Sokka felt a groan building internally.  Just…no.  No, no, no.  This was not good.  This needed to be nipped in the bud before it got the chance to develop any farther, and Sokka was ashamed to admit that it had probably only developed this far because of him.

“Zuko.  It’s _Jet_.   Whatever you’re thinking, stop thinking.  He’s conniving and smooth and manipulative _and doesn’t really care about you_ , which even if he did would be made moot by the fact that he doesn’t know you’re _Fire Nation_.”

“What do you care anyway?” the firebender snapped.  “You’re only helping me because I said I’d find the Avatar’s precious bison for you.”

That actually hurt a bit.  “So…you don’t think we’re friends?” he asked quietly.

“Have you forgotten?  You’re trying to dethrone my father!” 

“He’s _evil_ and _destroying_ the _world_!”

“No, he’s not!” Zuko denied adamantly. 

“Zuko.  He burned half your face off.”  The prince’s lips tightened, and Sokka waited for the rebuttal or angry denial.  He _hoped_ for the rebuttal or angry denial.  Of course it didn’t come. “Look, whatever you may think, I’m actually trying to help you.  This thing with Jet isn’t going to work, and you _know_ that. How do you think this is all going to work out, anyway?  You can’t hide what you are forever!”

“I don’t care what you think,” the taller boy snapped.  “You’re an idiot and a peasant, and only helping me for your own gain.  You probably _want_ me to be miserable for the rest of my life!”

“If you really believe that, you’re just as crazy and self-deluded as Jet is!” the watertribe boy exclaimed angrily, and then stormed out the door, making sure to slam it behind him.

If Zuko wanted to ruin his own life by falling for Jet’s… _Jet_ -ness, then fine.  Whatever.  Sokka had better things to do than waste any more of his energy worrying about it.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Zuko scowled as he stormed into his bedroom.  What did Sokka know, anyway?  About anything?  About Jet, or the Firelord, or…anything?  Yes, Jet was kind of a manipulative asshole.  And, yes, his father had scarred his face, but the way Sokka stated it…so cut and dry, like there wasn’t more to the story.  Zuko kicked up the floorboard that hid his mask.  The face of the Blue Spirit wasn’t anymore relieving or comforting than anything else in his life – just the opposite, in fact.  To the Fire Nation, it was the face of a traitor, which at this point, he couldn’t even find it in himself to deny anymore.  To people in the Earth Kingdom – people like _Jet_ – it was something a little more rebellious, heroic even.  To Zuko, it was just desperation.   Holding the familiar ceramic mask in his hand, the banished prince felt the same heavy weight of despair that had pushed him to using it every other time. 

Sokka and Jet were both confusing.  Sokka more so than Jet.  At least Zuko could tell what Jet wanted from him now.  And, yes, he might be an asshole who hated the Fire Nation, and Uncle was probably (definitely) right about leaving well enough alone, but for some reason Jet liked him.  And Zuko knew he wasn’t a very likable person – he was awkward, kind of mean, and entirely too temperamental for his own good.  But despite all that, Jet liked him.  And before the former Freedom Fighter had gone crazy in the teashop those weeks ago, back when they had first met, Zuko had kind of liked him, too.  Possibly liked him again now that he was being normal again.  Besides, Zuko was pretty sure that even drunk he wouldn’t have…done anything…with Jet if he hadn’t liked him at least a little?

“This is so confusing!” he shouted, kicking the wall.  

And that wasn’t even getting into the conundrum that was Sokka.  Zuko understood that Sokka hated Jet, but Zuko had also been pretty confident that Sokka didn’t like him much, either, and was just nice to him because it would benefit the Avatar.  But now he was claiming they were friends?  How could they possibly be friends?  Sokka was part of the Avatar’s group, and Aang represented everything Zuko wanted and would never have.  If he was entirely honest himself, something the former prince wasn’t in the practice of doing, he could admit that he was never going to capture the Avatar or regain his honour or return to his homeland.  It had been hard enough with the few resources he’d had before, but now, as a full-blown traitor?  His father wasn’t the forgiving type. He was most likely going to live the rest of his life in this spirits damned city, pretending to be just like any other Earth Kingdom refugee, never bending again. 

“If I have to pretend for the rest of my life anyway, why not pretend with Jet?” he muttered under his breath.  Maybe his uncle was wrong about this. There was no reason Jet had to find out again.  A niggling voice in the back of his head screamed no, but it sounded entirely too much like Sokka for Zuko to want to listen to it at the moment. 

Sokka was only mad because of whatever had happened between Jet and his sister.  And, honestly, that didn’t affect Zuko at all.  Sokka was just biased.  He also probably thought that if Zuko changed his mind, he would back out of his end of the bison deal.  Well, Sokka didn’t have to worry about that. 

Setting the mask down on the ground, Zuko stared at it for another second before making his decision.  This thing with Jet could probably work, but not with Sokka around.  And there was one sure fire way to get rid of Sokka. 

Before another two thoughts could pass through Zuko’s head, he was dressed in all black, swords strapped to his back, mask in place and moving across rooftops.  He found a perfect, out of the way alleyway, set up, and waited.  It actually took longer than he thought for a Dai Li agent to come by, especially given how they seemed to be everywhere, but when the agent finally passed, he wasted no time in running past him, a shout of “Out of my way, skinny!” leaving his mouth as he shoved into the man, turning sharp into the alley and smoothly pulling himself up onto a roof to watch.  The earthbender followed, as predicted, and as he attacked the dummy Zuko had set up, the firebender snuck up behind him and placed one of his swords directly against the man’s neck.  He felt the agent swallow nervously.

“If you don’t want to end up like him,” the ex-prince growled, referring to the beheaded dummy, “You’ll do what I say.”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Sokka almost thought he got away with stomping into the house.  The place was silent and still, no signs of Aang, Momo, or Katara.  Just when he thought he could fume in peace, though, Toph pushed herself up from where she had been napping on some pillows in the corner.

“Geesh, Snoozles, could you be any louder with the angry walking?  What crawled in your underwear and died?”

“It’s that…that…idiot!  I can’t believe him!  What is it about Jet that has normally sensible people throwing away _all common sense_ and just…falling into bed with him?!”

Toph raised an eyebrow.  “Are you telling me that Sparky and Sugar Queen’s bad boyfriend are a thing?”

“For some reason: yes!  And it’s not like I haven’t warned him!  Jet is bad news, okay?  And I get that he’s all emotionally damaged and whatever, but you would think when someone is blatantly telling you ‘no, don’t do the thing, it’s bad’, he would stop and realise, ‘no, I shouldn’t try and do anything with Jet’, as opposed to turning it around on me and how we’re not really friends because of the whole ‘evil Fire Lord’ thing – which he can’t even really disagree with but does anyway because he’s _stupid_ – and going on in a way that insinuated he’s actually considering making more nice with Jet because he’s a _poor decision maker_!”  Sokka threw himself down onto a pillow, half tempted to let a frustrated scream out into the thing. The only thing that stopped him was that Toph was watching, and would never let him live it down if he did that.

Toph sat quietly, and silence fell between the two of them as Sokka took in a few deep breaths to calm down. 

“So when did you start…you know, _liking_ the guy?” she finally asked.

“Well, I mean, he’s kind of hard not to like, he’s pretty hilarious.  But not the way you or I are naturally hilarious, he’s just so bad at life and overblown that it’s hard not to laugh at him.  And I don’t think he really knows how to do ‘friends’, so I can’t help but feel bad.”

“That’s great and all, but I mean like, _liking_ him.”

Sokka blinked.  He stared at Toph.  Then he laughed.  “You think I like Zuko, like _that_?  Hah!  NO.  No way.  I like _Suki._ And I liked _Yue_.  No _way_ do I like that idiotic _dumbass_.  I just…I thought we were friends, you know?  I thought we were bonding and had something.”

“Uh huuuuh,” Toph replied.  The sarcasm in her voice was palpable.  “It’s either that, or you like _Jet_ with how mad you are about everyone sleeping with him. You should probably figure that out.  Besides, the way things seem to be going with you, who knows.  And Aang still needs a firebending teacher.”  With that, the girl flopped back over to return to her nap.  Sokka gaped at her turned back.

Like Zuko?  What cactus juice had she been drinking?

Although, Zuko teaching Aang firebending was an intriguing notion.  Not one that would ever happen, but a boy could dream.

** TBC… **


	14. Not Even a Little

Zuko slunk through dimly lit halls, keeping himself melded to the shadows.  For such a secret, important Dai Li base, the place was surprisingly poorly guarded.  Then again, secrecy was probably their main source of defense.   Wrenching the name Lake Laogai from that unfortunate guard had been entirely more work than he had expected.  Add to that, finding out the entrance, and, well…half of Zuko’s night was gone already.  Which was less than ideal: he wanted Sokka gone sooner rather than later, and would much prefer it if the water tribesman didn’t feel the need to come in to the teashop in the morning. 

Of course, with the way things were going right now it looked like that wasn’t going to be happening any time soon.  This base was a sprawling mess underneath the giant lake.  Zuko didn’t know how long he’d been darting around down here, but he’d born witness to some weird things.  If he thought some things in the Fire Nation were messed up, well, at least they didn’t brainwash women en masse into thinking their names were all Joo Dee.  But that had been at least an hour ago, he’d seen that, and at this point he wasn’t even sure if he was headed in the right direction.  He still knew where the exits were, but this deep in the base, he didn’t think it was a good idea to try and grab any of the Dai Li to get them to talk.  That just seemed like a sure fire way to get himself captured, and not find Appa.

Hurried footsteps from around the corner suddenly caught the banished prince’s attention, and he ducked into an enclave right as several Dai Li agents turned into the hall.  The one in charge looked furious, and stormed past with a notable limp. 

“The Avatar is turning into more trouble than he’s worth,” the man said, and the mention of the Avatar was more than enough for Zuko to pay attention.  And then the guy stopped and pulled up the edge of his robe, examining a nasty bruise that ran up his calf.  The man scowled at the sight before dropping his clothes back down and continuing. “And make sure you muzzle that beast – I won’t have him biting me again!” 

“Of course, Long Feng, sir,” one of the agents with him replied, and then they turned into a different hall.  Zuko stepped back out of hiding.  It looked like he was going the right way, after all. 

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

A sharp rapping from outside jerked Sokka out of his sleep.  He looked around, wondering what had made the noise, but, predictably, all he saw was blackness.  He waited a few minutes, but when nothing further happened, he shrugged and laid back down.  Maybe he’d just misheard.  Just as his eyes closed, the sound came again, faster and more impatient than before.  Ah!  Sokka realised, now that he was awake and could pinpoint things more accurately.  The window.  It was coming from the window. With a yawn, the water tribesman drew himself up and dragged himself out of bed, idly wondering who could be trying to get his attention like that right now.  He stopped to pull his clothes on really quickly, as he refused to answer the window for who knows who in the middle of the night in his underwear.

Sokka pulled a shutter open, letting out a yelp when he was greeted with that terrifying blue mask immediately in his face, and then abruptly yanked out the window. 

“Zu—mmph!” was all he managed to get out before a hand firmly clamped itself over his mouth, and the other boy held a finger over the mask’s mouth to shush him.  How Zuko managed to imbue that one action with more irritation than Sokka felt in a week, he would never know.  But then Zuko pointed to several of the roofs of the adjacent houses and light bloomed in front of Sokka’s eyes as he realised what the other boy was trying to indicate.  Dai Li.  He nodded, and was relieved when Zuko let up because he had inadvertently licked that glove and the thing tasted nasty. 

“What are you doing, yanking me out of bed like this in the middle of the night?” Sokka whispered frantically.  “Especially when you know we’re being watched by the Dai Li, like, all the time, come on, couldn’t you just wait until you see me in the morning?  That’s less than six hours away.  And a lot of those are sleep.  I like sleep. ”

Predictably, Zuko didn’t bother responding, just grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him along in the shadows.  Sokka wasn’t liking this mask very much.  Zuko was normally grumpy, but it seemed like Blue Spirit Zuko took taciturn to a whole new level.

“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing?” 

Silence.

“Can you at least tell me where we’re going?”

No answer. 

With a forlorn sigh, Sokka resigned himself to following along.  And then he wondered when he’d reached the point where Zuko could get him out of bed in the middle of the night and then yank him out of a window, not say a word, and get Sokka to follow him.  Without Sokka suspecting that this was some bizzare, strangely convoluted plot to capture Aang using him as bait, at that.  Maybe Toph had a bit more of a point than Sokka was willing to admit. 

“You know, you seem like you might be kinda mad still.”  Zuko’s shoulders stiffened a bit, and he started walking with a bit more ferocity, but still, Sokka got nothing.

“Look,” he tried again, “I get that whatever’s between you and Jet and whatever bad decisions you may or may not be making are entirely your decision to make, but…can’t you just at least think about what I told you?  Somehow – weirdly – you’ve become my friend, and even if you don’t agree or even feel the same, I do actually care about you, okay?  Just know that.”  Still no response.  No reaction at all, which was kind of weird given that Sokka felt he was over here baring his soul.  Talking to Zuko like this was like talking to a rock.  Except the rock was friendlier. 

Silence fell between the two.  Sokka bit his lip, trying to figure out what else to say.  Zuko had to go and make things difficult every single time.   In any other situation, he might’ve just given up and gone back to the house, but something – maybe Zuko’s creepy blue mask – told him that this was actually important.  That feeling only grew as they snuck through all three rings and down past the Inner Wall. 

“How do you even know these passages?” Sokka whispered at Zuko, but, predictably, he got no response.  At least not until, after what had to have been at least an hour of walking, they were far enough away from the city that they could barely see any of the walls in any direction.

“I found the bison,” Zuko said suddenly – unexpectedly.  Sokka stopped.

“Wait; what?”

“The avatar’s bison,” Zuko repeated in a low, irritated voice.  “I found him like I said I would. I’m taking you there.”

“You found Appa?!  For real?”

“Yes.”

“But—how?  And where!  I mean, we’ve looked all over the city; who could possibly be hiding an animal that big?”

“The Dai Li,” Zuko said.  “Specifically, Long Feng, their leader.”

Sokka could only gape, stunned that he hadn’t put that together sooner.  He felt like such an idiot.  He was supposed to be the smart one of the group!  “Yeah,” he finally replied, faintly, “Yeah, I know who Long Feng is.”

Silence filled the air again until Zuko, suddenly, with the briefest hint of amusement in his voice, said, “Apparently he hasn’t been treating it too well, because the bison – _Appa_ – apparently bit him on the leg.  It’s a huge bruise, his whole calf.  He seemed…really put out.”   Sokka laughed at that, the image that came to mind of Long Feng hopping around on one foot, the other stuck in Appa’s mouth. 

Finally, they reached the edge of a lake, where Zuko made a quick whistling noise similar to what Aang liked to use sometimes – which in all fairness Zuko had probably learned from _stalking_ Aang, but at this point, Sokka wasn’t going to judge – and across the water, on a small island covered in bush, there was a bit of a rustle and then Appa flew out from behind the bushes, white fur lit up by the moon, and landed hard in front of them.

And then, as Sokka stood in shock, licked a stripe up Zuko’s body, knocking the mask off his face as he went.

“Ah!  Ew, eughhh,” Zuko exclaimed, unsuccessfully trying to wipe bison spit off, well…his whole body.   

“Appa!  Buddy!”  Sokka exclaimed, rushing forward to hug the beast.  “Tui and La, Zuko, you’re the best!  You actually did it.”

For the briefest of seconds, Sokka swore he saw a smile on Zuko’s face before suddenly his expression hardened.

“So now we’re even and you can leave me alone,” he snapped all of a sudden.  Sokka was taken aback.  He stepped away from Appa to stare at Zuko in disbelief.

“Is that what this is about?  You found Appa to make me _leave_?”

“We made a deal; you kept your part, and I kept mine.  We’re even.”

“I haven’t kept my side at all!  I mean, yeah, thanks for finding Appa, but just to make me leave because you don’t like what I’m saying?  What is wrong with you?”

In keeping with the rest of the evening, Zuko remained stubbornly silent to that, glaring mulishly as he bent over to pick back up his mask. 

“Fine!” Sokka shouted, unable to take this anymore.  “Well, you’ll get your wish, Zuko. 

With Appa back, we can finally leave, and you’ll never have to see me again, okay?  I hope Jet makes you _very happy!_ ”  And then, for effect, Sokka turned on his heel and stomped back off in the direction of the city.

“Sokka!” he heard Zuko call after him, but ignored it and kept walking.  And then, “The city’s the other way you idiot!”   Sokka scowled but without missing a beat, turned again in the right direction, determined to leave Zuko behind.  That determination was ruined by Zuko falling into step next to him, impenetrable mask back on his face, but, hey, it was the thought that counted. 

By the time they made it back to the city – and to the upper ring – it was just before dawn.  Not a word had passed between them the entire trip back, and as Sokka climbed back in through the window, that didn’t change.  He glanced back in time to see Zuko disappear in the morning light and made sure to slam the shutters closed with as much force as possible. 

“Have a fun night with Sparky?” Toph suddenly asked from behind him, and Sokka let out an unholy shriek.

“Yue damn it, don’t _do_ that!”  Sokka yelled.  “And no, for the record, I did _not_ have a fun night.  I am tired and cranky and angry, and—oh!  Oh, I have great news!  Oh man, guys, guys!” he shouted, all but running out of his room to bang at Katara and Aang’s doors.

“Why are you yelling so early?” Katara groaned as she stepped out, an odd contrast to Aang’s oddly chipper morning self who seemed totally okay with being shouted out of his sleep.

“Morning, Sokka!  Katara!  Toph!  What’s up?”

“I have something to show you guys, but we’ve gotta go, like, right now.”

“Something like what?”

“Something like a totally great surprise, so get moving, okay, get ready, we really gotta do this and it’s a bit of a trip because it’s way past the inner walls and Aang can’t carry us all.”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

By the time Zuko made it home, he didn’t have time to do much more than wash up and change clothes before heading to the teashop.  It was early – much earlier than Iroh made just about anyone else show up to work, but Zuko generally helped him open the shop, and therefore was running late.  And given that he hadn’t even bothered to show up yesterday…

Well, Zuko wasn’t surprised when he walked into the teashop to find Iroh waiting for him, grim-faced, with disappointment practically steaming off of him like he was a kettle that had been slowly heating up over the stove for the past two days. 

Working in a teashop was seriously starting to mess with the prince’s brain.

Still, though, Zuko had the good sense to look abashed even before his uncle opened his mouth to chide him.  He hadn’t been thinking at all.  But then, not thinking was usually what Iroh got on his case about. And Iroh hadn’t been home any of the times he had been.

“Nephew, where have you been?” Iroh asked.  “You’ve been gone for two days!  I was beginning to worry something might have happened to you.”  Zuko really, really hadn’t meant to make the old man worry at all. 

“I’m sorry, Uncle,” he said, “I was…I…”  Zuko trailed off, trying to figure out how to explain exactly what had been going on the past few days without actually explaining.  He really didn’t need his uncle’s look of disapproval on top of Sokka’s nonsense.  And also, there were some things a teenage boy just couldn’t share with one’s uncle, and certain stupid, drunken decisions were one of them.  Zuko’s cheek went red just thinking about trying to explain that to Iroh.  Instead, he went with another truth. 

Under his breath, a mumble.  “I…freed the Avatar’s bison.” It was quiet and barely perceptible but his uncle’s eyes widened as he replied.

“You…freed the Avatar’s bison?”  Any disapproval that had been in the old firebender’s voice had disappeared.  Zuko wasn’t stupid.  He’d known his uncle had been not-so-subtly trying to push him away from his hunt for the Avatar for months even before Aang had shown back up in the world.  Still, the faint tinge of pride in the old man’s voice twisted his stomach all wrong. 

Zuko gave a faint nod anyway.  “For Sokka,” he added.  To make him _leave_ , he didn’t say, but added:  “He’s not coming back.”  Iroh was nothing if not perceptive, though, and so his eyes narrowed slightly.

“If I may ask, Nephew – what prompted this sudden change of heart?”

Zuko felt himself get flustered, and he shouted, “Nothing!”  And stormed off towards the kitchen, throwing a, “I just did, okay?!” over his shoulder, leaving Iroh shaking his head behind him.  He threw himself into his work, helping set up the teashop, and avidly _not_ thinking about Sokka, even as the two other workers Iroh had hired trickled in.  It wasn’t until Jet showed up that he gave himself a moment, and made to approach him before stopping short and all but running to the back room.  This was…he didn’t know what to do.  This was so far outside his comfort range.  But he was nothing if not determined, and he’d made his decision, and by Agni, Zuko was going to stick to it.  He steadfastly ignored Sokka’s voice screaming warnings in the back of his head.  His stomach was curled up in knots as it was – he felt sicker than the time Azula had tried to poison his juice when he was seven.  And that had been a crazy kind of experience. 

At least he hadn’t thrown up yet.  Zuko clung to the little things in life.

The firebender took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do, when the door to the backroom swung open and in walked Jet.  Zuko’s face heated up almost instantly.  It was kind of embarrassing. 

“Li!”  Jet greeted.  “You, uh…you didn’t show up yesterday.  And I know I’ve been apologising a lot, but I’m sorry about the festival – that wasn’t my intention when I invited you, you know.  I did promise no kissing.  Although, I didn’t promise no anything else we did,” Jet winked.  Zuko’s stomach twisted up more, and the urge to hit the Freedom Fighter suddenly reared its head again.  He clamped down on it just this once, though.  “In my defense, you kissed me this time,” he was continuing, and Zuko still didn’t know what to say, all his words had just vanished, so in quite possibly the second (or maybe third) dumbest move he’d made this week, Zuko took a page from Jet’s book.  He reached out, twisted his fist in the taller boy’s shirt, and yanked him forward, touching his mouth to Jet’s before he could even think about what he was doing.  Of course, if he’d thought about what he was doing, he probably wouldn’t have done it. 

Jet let out a surprised noise before he realised what was happening.  Zuko could feel the darker boy smirking against his lips but Jet was abruptly shoved away the moment he felt an inkling of tongue because just – no.  That was still weird.  No matter what else might have happened between them this week.

“Look,” he began slowly – awkwardly.  His tongue felt heavy in his mouth, and he felt like he was tripping over his words, but Jet was suddenly hanging on to every word he spoke.  “I…that was…I mean, uh…It wasn’t….it wasn’t _bad,_ ” he managed.  “What happened.  The other night.  Uh.”

Zuko was starting to regret deciding to do this.  The grin Jet was wearing alone was causing him second thoughts but – no. That was just Sokka and his stupid talk about stupidness getting to him.  There would be no second thoughts here.  Or third, or fifth, or twentieth.  He was doing this. 

“We could, uh…we could…try?” he offered, and Jet grinned even wider.

“Really?” he asked.  Zuko offered an awkward nod.  “Sooooo does that mean I can kiss you again?”  Zuko paused, frowned, and then sighed, before nodding again. 

“Yes!”

It was at least five minutes before the two of them emerged from the backroom, and Zuko pretended not to notice the even more disappointed look his uncle was sending him. 

He also pretended that the suddenly noticeable lack of chatter he’d grown used to from Sokka over the past few weeks didn’t bother him at all.  Not even a little bit. 

** TBC… **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so I'm trying to get into the habit of updating more regularly (which isn't an issue at the moment because I have a bunch of chapters written past this one, which is why I've been updating frequently all of a sudden), which leads me to the question:
> 
> What day is best for me to update for you?


	15. Counting the Seconds

It had been two days, five hours, eight minutes, and fifty-six seconds since he’d abruptly parted ways Zuko.  Not that Sokka was counting.  It would’ve been hard and, frankly, crazy to keep track of that with everything that had been going on the past few days what with the Earth King and revealing that Long Feng was secretly evil, and trying to reveal the Fire Nation’s secret weakness to get the King to help them, and what not.  Sokka had, in fact, not thought about the angry, belligerent, really, ridiculously dumb banished prince once the entire time.  Except a brief thought of thanks at the heads up about Appa biting Long Feng on the leg – that had come in to be quite useful.  Other than that, nothing.  Not a single thought in his head was spared for Zuko.  Not even planning to storm back down to the teashop the first chance he got to shout some sense into that thickheaded walnut.

Which is why he lay back in the chair he was sprawled out over and released a full body sigh.  Across the room, Toph let out a loud groan.

“By the Spirits, Sokka, would you quit it already!  You are driving me crazy with your pining.”

“What pining, what are you even talking about?” he shot back.  “I have no idea what you mean.  I’m just yawning because I’m tired because the past couple days have been exhausting, you know.”

Toph stopped to yawn because the word alone was that infectious, before replying, “Yeah, and how long has it been since Sparky ditched you?”

“Two days, five hours, nine minutes, and—hey!  That’s so not fair, I’m definitely not counting!”

“Yeeeeeaaaaah, course you’re not. P-i-ning.” 

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t even be thinking about him _at all_ if you hadn’t have gone and put thoughts into my head!”  Sokka cried, jumping to his feet.  That was, of course, when Katara and Aang decided to join them.

“What’s going on?” his sister asked, raising an eyebrow at the scene before her.  Not that Sokka standing incensed over an unperturbed Toph was that unusual of a sight for them to walk in on.  What was unusual was that Sokka was actually around after weeks of disappearing off to his “mystery job” as the waterbender had deemed it.

“Sokka hasn’t seen his _boyfriend_ in like two days ‘cause he quit his job, and they had a fight, so he’s pining.”

Katara blinked.  “Sokka has a boyfriend?”

“He is not my boyfriend!” 

“No, of course not; he just found Appa for you out of the kindness of his heart.”

“He found Appa for me because he’s being an idiot!  He only did it to be a…a…a butt!”

“How, exactly, is finding Appa – the nicest thing he could’ve possibly done – him being ‘a butt’?”  Toph actually had the audacity to make air quotes at that.  How did she even know about air quotes, Sokka wondered darkly; it’s not like she could see them.

Katara frowned, clearly not following.  “Sokka’s boyfriend is the one who found Appa…?”

“He is not my boyfriend!” Sokka protested again. 

“Wait; who found Appa?”  Aang asked, and suddenly all eyes were on Sokka, seeing and unseeing.  Toph wasn’t even trying to hide her smirk, clearly amused to see how Sokka was going to try and talk his way out of this one.  Sokka wanted to stick his tongue out at her, but it would accomplish nothing.  Instead, he scrambled through his brain, trying to come up with a way to say _“Zuko found Appa for me in order to get rid of me because he’s stupid and won’t listen to me when I say dating Jet is a terrible idea”_ without actually saying any of that.  And then he realised Zuko himself had so helpfully provided the answer. 

“Actually, it’s kind of a funny story, but, uh…it was the Blue Spirit.”  Aang looked taken aback all of a sudden, but Sokka was too caught up in his own thought process to note the weird look that had twisted over the Avatar’s face.

Katara paused.  “The Blue Spirit?  ‘Scourge of the Fire Nation’ Blue Spirit?  That Blue Spirit?”

“Yup.  The very same.”

Aang’s face twisted a bit more.  “The same Blue Spirit who rescued me?”

“That’d be him,” Sokka confirmed.  It was probably best that Aang didn’t know it was Zuko who’d rescued him, Sokka theorized.  It’d probably blow Aang’s mind, and then he’d be stuck on things like “friendship” and Zuko was an idiot who didn’t understand how friends worked anyway and would probably end up setting Aang on fire.  Or trying to.  Again.

“He’s in Ba Sing Se?”

“Yeah. Crazy, right?”                                                           

“Why do you sound so bothered by that?” Katara asked Aang.  Aang jumped and then laughed nervously, rubbing his scalp with one hand.  A sheepish smile spread over his face.

“Bothered?” he laughed.  “Hah!  Me?  What?  No!  I just…didn’t think that the Blue Spirit seemed like a, uh…a Ba Sing Se kind of person!  It’s just kind of crazy that he’s here, and we’re here, and uh…how’d you guys meet?” he turned to Sokka abruptly. 

“They worked together at Sokka’s job,” Toph cut in unhelpfully.  Aang’s eyes were wide and disbelieving. 

“So…the Blue Spirit is your boyfriend?” Katara asked.  Sokka bit back a curse.  He didn’t even bother trying to refute it, especially when he glared at his sister to find a mischievous glint in her eye.  And then he realised:  she was doing this to get back at him for Jet.  Well, joke was on her.  Jet was doing more than enough to get back at him for Jet.  Or…wait.  That didn’t make sense.

Whatever.

A knock on the door interrupted before anyone else could say anything, and Sokka all but ran to answer it.  It was Joo Dee.  The original one, because Sokka had to clarify now that he knew for sure there were like eighty of them running around the city.

“The Earth King has requested your presence,” she announced, and the four kids exchanged excited looks. 

It was about damn time.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

The weird feeling in his stomach hadn’t gone away.  If anything, Zuko noticed, it had grown more and more prominent the past two days, and he didn’t know why. He’d also developed a headache that was slowly getting steadily worse for no reason. The past couple days had been good. It turns out when Jet wasn’t going out of his way to be a creep, he turned back into the same guy Zuko had met all those weeks ago on the boat.  That is, someone Zuko actually got along with.  It’d been nice.  Kissing was still weird, even though Jet seemed to want to do it any time they had a spare moment.  It wasn’t bad, though, and Zuko was starting to find that he actually liked it.  Work had been fairly pleasant, if boring, and if there had been a couple awkward moments when he had turned to say something to Sokka, well, he ignored that. 

Besides, if the past couple days had shown anything, it was that Sokka was wrong.  Zuko didn’t have very much experience with friends, let alone an actual boyfriend or girlfriend, but so far he couldn’t say he minded.  It was, like the kissing, kind of weird having someone actually interested in him like this, but not bad.  Somehow, Jet wanting to spend all his time following Zuko wasn’t as weird now that he’d decided to reciprocate.

“—so then the Duke freaks,” Jet exclaimed, gesturing wildly with his hands to punctuate his story, “and Pipsqueak is laughing so hard he almost chokes on his water and Smellerbee had to rush to save him.  Spirits, Li, it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”  He was laughing, loudly, and the usually moody prince offered up a brief smile.  The shop had closed a short while ago, and the two of them were walking through the streets, casually meandering as Jet more or less walked him home.  The taller teen had tried to slip their hands together, and Zuko had let that stand for all of one second before he’d shaken his hand away and crossed his arms.  Jet had pouted a bit, momentarily put out, but recovered. 

Jet’s story done, silence descended between the two of them. It was a comfortable silence, though, even if something in Zuko protested against it.  If Sokka were here, there wouldn’t be a moment of peace, he idly thought.  And then he glowered down at the ground, and shoved that thought away.  Not that it mattered.  He liked the peace, after all.  He loved quiet!  The water tribesman’s nonstop talking had gotten on his nerves, to be honest.  Jet talked a lot, but he knew how to shut up sometimes. 

Zuko’s arms dropped back down to his sides, and Jet wasted no time in slipping their hands back together.  This time, the former prince let him.  Hand-holding was, apparently, part of being in a relationship with someone.  Or something.

“What’s got that look on your face?” Jet asked.

“What?  What look?”

“You look like you’re about to try and stab someone, preferably not me.”

Zuko paused.  “I do?”

“Yeah, but you look murderous most of the time.  It’s kind of cute, you know?”  Zuko avidly was not blushing.  His face was only red from the force of the heated glare he shot Jet.  “Yeah, like that!”  Jet grinned.

It was useless.  Jet seemed to have grown an immunity to his glare over the past two days, as well, like somehow magically being in a relationship together meant Zuko was never going to be really irritated with him. 

“I was just thinking about Sokka,” Zuko said, opting to answer Jet’s question rather than address Jet’s weird relationship-ness. He was glaring at the ground, now, so he missed the dark look that crossed his… _boyfriend’s_ …face when he said Sokka’s name. 

“Why think about him when you’re with me?”  Jet asked, his voice forced light, making it into a joke.  Zuko shrugged, tugging Jet over to one of the merchant stalls as he remembered Iroh had asked him to pick up some herbs on the way home.  Things, his uncle had said, that should help settle his stomach when Zuko had mentioned he was feeling unwell. 

“He’s just jealous, anyway,” Jet continued offhandedly.  “Jealous and bitter.  I mean, okay, I will admit that I messed up with Katara—”

“It probably didn’t help that you keep rubbing it in his face.”

“—Like I said, I will admit that I messed up with Katara, but he’s just upset because he doesn’t have anyone for himself.”  Zuko may have accidentally let slip to Jet a condensed version of Sokka’s warning about him.  The Freedom Fighter had been pouting about it ever since.  “Sokka’s cool and all, but he just doesn’t understand you, Li.  Not like I do.  We get each other.”  Well, that wasn’t even remotely true, given that Jet didn’t even know his real name, but Zuko was making the best out of a bad situation.  Especially now that he’d let all hope of ever catching the Avatar slip straight out of his hands.  Not even slip.  He’d just handed it away, straight to Sokka without a second thought. 

His stomach tightened a little more at the thought.  He handed over the money for what he was buying, and then he and Jet continued onwards.  Jet’s palm in his was weird, and kind of disconcerting – it was sweaty and kind of warm, although probably not nearly as warm as his own, and Jet was squeezing his hand slightly every now and again.  He hadn’t really thought about the future much since he’d arrived in the city – or, rather, he’d thought about the future entirely too much.  But it was all different now.  He’d practically sealed his own fate in.

They’d reached Zuko and Iroh’s home, now, and Zuko opened the door.

“Nephew?” he heard his uncle call from inside the apartment.  He stepped through, letting Jet’s hand go.  His head was pounding worse all of a sudden.  “Is that you?”  Iroh’s voice was louder, and Zuko looked him to see – well, that was weird.  He was seeing his uncle in double, which was kind of a nice thought.  More Iroh to love him.  At least someone in his family did.  His vision blurred some more.

“Li?”  That was Jet.  “Are you okay?”

Zuko shook his head.  “I don’t…I don’t feel right,” he muttered, and then noticed the floor was suddenly getting closer to his face.  Oh.  He was falling. 

“Li!” he heard Jet exclaim, at the same time Iroh said, “Nephew!”  The last thing he heard before passing out was the shattering of the vase he’d apparently knocked over.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

General How was waiting for the Avatar’s group in Long Feng’s office, when they were done consulting with the Earth King.  The General seemed like a nice man, if stern – he was definitely a step up from Long Feng, that was for sure.   And a lot more forthcoming.  Then again, Long Feng’s secrets weren’t How’s to keep, so it probably didn’t matter to him so much.  It mattered to the Earth King, though, as Kuei had decided to accompany them to find out what else, exactly, his advisor had been hiding from him.

“There are secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se.  Including you kids,” the general said, gesturing to the ornate chest sitting in front of the Earth King.  Keui opened it, as Aang asked, curiously: “Secret files?” 

Kuei pulled a scroll out of the chest, giving it a once over, his frown growing deeper. 

“Toph Bei Fong,” he said, handing it to Toph, who abruptly passed it on to Katara.  Katara opened the seal, and unrolled the scroll, glancing over it quickly. 

“It’s a letter from your mom!” she exclaimed to Toph.  “Your mom’s here in the city, and she wants to see you.”  A look of surprise crossed the blind earthbender’s face, but it was quickly replaced by disgust.

“Long Feng intercepted our letters from home?  That’s just sad.”

Kuei pulled another scroll out.  “Aang,” he said, handing it off to the boy.

General How said something, about where they found the horn, but Sokka slowly tuned him out.  Secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se?  Sokka wondered if that included Zuko and, if so, if Long Feng had known any of the boy’s secrets.  If he’d really been paying attention to the war, it would’ve been hard for him to not know about the prince of the Fire Nation, and it’s not like Zuko was hard to identify.  Especially not when his face was plastered over wanted posters around the world.  And especially not when Zuko was kind of a dumbass who was not as sneaky as he liked to think.

Maybe Long Feng really was just _that_ indifferent to the war after all.

“Is there a letter for me and Sokka by any chance?” Katara piped up in the conversation, drawing Sokka’s mind back instantly.  He hadn’t even thought about that, but – hope welled up within him for a second at the thought of his dad. 

“I’m afraid not,” the King said morosely, and Sokka sighed, bummed.  Of course not.  He wasn’t that lucky.  Ever.

And then the General said, “But there is an intelligence report that might interest you,” and handed a scroll to Katara, and the luck was back on.

“A small fleet of water tribe ships,” she read, and excitement bubbled back up in him. 

“What?  That could be dad!” he exclaimed.  And then Katara read the rest, confirmed that it was their dad, and the excitement was real.  And shared between them even as the General and King left the four kids in the office to discuss amongst themselves what they wanted to do.  Aang read about the guru, Toph wanted to see her mom, and Katara suggested what Sokka had been thinking but hadn’t felt like saying.  That they split up.  Aang, of course, rejected the idea right of the bat, but he was sold at the very next sentence out of her mouth because honestly it was Katara saying it and he was eternally hopeless. 

“Well,” Aang exclaimed, “If I’m going to the Eastern Air Temple, Appa and I can drop you at Chameleon Bay to see your dad!”  Katara’s eyes lit up even more at that, if it were even possible. Sokka’s did, too, a bit, but then he noticed the one huge, gigantic, glaring flaw in the plan.  Leaving just wasn’t feasible.  There was much too much going on, helping the Earth King plan an invasion, and saving Zuko from himself, for Sokka to just leave right now.  It’d been two whole days since he’d last seen Zuko, and at the rate the prince was making terrible decisions, if Sokka didn’t see him until he got back from Chameleon Bay, he’d probably be married to Jet or something.

Spirits, no.   He couldn’t let that stand.

“Well,” he announced, putting on a dejected voice, “someone has to stay with the Earth King and help him plan for the invasion.  I guess that’s me?”  And Katara, proving that she was the most amazing sister in existence and too good for him even when she was currently still mad, surprisingly objected.

“No, Sokka,” she said.  “I know how badly you want to help Dad.  You go to Chameleon Bay; I’ll stay here with the king.” 

All thoughts of Zuko instantly left Sokka’s head.  The invasion was, after all, the real issue here, and it had been years – actual _years_ – since either of them had seen their dad, and she was just…letting him go.  He could cry.  Scratch that, he was crying.  Actually almost bawling, tears were in his eyes ready to pop at any moment.

“You are the nicest sister ever!” he practically shouted, leaping into her arms.  She pushed him away.

“Easy there, big brother,” she grinned.  “But you’re right.  I am.”

“So we can leave in the morning then?” Aang offered, and Sokka nodded enthusiastically. 

“Yes, perfect!”  That gave him plenty of time to get off his butt and go do something about this whole Jet situation before he left.  “A sudden trip is totally unexpected, I have some things to take care of, I’m going shopping; I’ll be back!”  Toph snorted, knowing the lie for what it was, but Sokka steadfastly ignored her, and hoofed it out of there, leaving Katara and Aang’s slightly bewildered faces in his wake. 

He was going to march down to that teashop and try to reason with Zuko one last time.  

His plan was thwarted when he reached the teashop.  It was open, but when Sokka walked in, there was a distinct dearth of death vibes and creepiness throughout the whole building. 

“Oh!  Sokka!”  One of the other waiters called, rushing over to him.  Ming, or something, he thought her name was.  He’d never really gotten to know anyone here aside from Zuko or Jet, though, which was…kind of a problem, come to think of it.  He could’ve been hanging out with nice, normal, cute people all along.  Even though Zuko had his moments.  Occasionally.  Sometimes.  “Are you here to help?  Thank the spirits; we are severely, severely understaffed.”

“Uh, no,” he said, frowning in confusion.  “I don’t work here anymore.  I thought Li told Mushi…?”

She groaned. “Yeah, but you’re here.  Li’s out sick, and Mushi only opened the shop and then went home to take care of him.  And who even knows where Jet is.  He doesn’t show up half the time; I don’t understand how he’s still employed!”

Sokka blinked.  “Wait…Li’s sick?”

“According to Mushi, yeah.”

“So…he’s not here?”

“Uh, no, that’s what I just said.” The girl rolled her eyes.   Sokka swore.  Yue dammit, it was like someone was conspiring against him.  Fine, then he would just go confront poor, sick Zuko on his deathbed.  He waved Ming goodbye and walked out, still determined.  He got two steps away from the teashop when he realised:

He had no idea where Zuko and Iroh actually lived.

Damn it.

Ah, well, he consoled himself.  At least the teashop was close to the market.  He really did have things to buy for his trip in the morning.

**_TBC…_ **


	16. Positive Thinking

Jet let out a loud yawn and jerked himself awake.  He shook his head out and blinked twice, sitting back up more fully.  And then he stretched and blinked some more.  This was no time to be sleeping.  Li was sick.  Like, really sick.  Crazy sick – and it had come on so fast and out of nowhere.  Mushi was obviously concerned, and the old man hadn’t made Jet leave or even go to work at all today, which was nice.  Even if Jet did feel the disapproving stares every time he looked away. 

If there were ever a good time to prove to his newly minted boyfriend that he was, in fact, perfect boyfriend material, it was now.  While the scarred boy was sick.  He was going to impress Li with his amazing bedside manner, and win Mushi completely over in one fell swoop.  Which is why he’d been sitting here half the night, next to Li’s bed, helping the old man take care of his ailing nephew.  It was late now, though (or maybe it was early) and getting harder to stay awake. 

Jet was determined, though.  He had volunteered to sit the night with Li, and make sure his new boyfriend didn’t, like, keel over and die in the middle of the night or anything, and by the spirits, he was going to do it.  Mushi had retired to bed at that, which Jet took as a positive sign. After all, he’d been rushed away the night before in a hurry, even if he’d been loath to leave.  But sometimes Jet figured it was in his best interest not to argue with Mushi, especially if he wanted to wake up and still have a job the next day.  And given that his job ensured him uninterrupted Li time, well.  He’d gone home.

But instead of showing up to said job this morning, Jet had woken up before the sun had even risen and gotten on his way, all but knocking down the door beating on it when he arrived at Li’s. 

“Good morning, Jet,” Mushi had greeted, surprise evident in his voice.  

“Morning, Mushi,” he’d responded.  “Just wanted to check on Li.  See how he was doing after yesterday, and ask if you need any help?”

“Ah, yes, my nephew is…doing as well as can be expected, under the circumstances.  He is very, very sick.  It is probably best if he doesn’t take visitors; he needs rest.”

Jet nodded in agreement.  “Oh, yeah, definitely.  I’m not trying to visit, I just – I mean.  He’s kind of – we’re…,” he trailed off, unsure of what, exactly, Li had told his uncle regarding their newfound relationship.  “He’s important to me,” Jet settled on, “And I thought I could help.  If you need any, of course.  I don’t want to intrude.”  He definitely did want to intrude and was really, really hoping that Mushi wasn’t about to send him away.  The old man hadn’t, instead his face lit up.

“You are a very helpful young man, Jet!” he exclaimed.  “Please, come in.”  He smiled back.  Yeah, he was good. Uninterrupted time to impress Li, that’s what this was going to be.  He’d known that in his heart.

Which is why he’d been extra surprised when Mushi had suddenly shoved a list of chores into his hands almost as long as he was tall.

“Li is sick, and I must take care of him,” Mushi explained, “But there is just so much work for these old bones to do, and I simply don’t have the time.  It would be much appreciated if you could take care of these for a frail old man.”  Jet didn’t even glance at the list.  Which, in retrospect, had been a terrible, terrible mistake.

“Of course, sir, anything you need.”

Two hours later, the whole apartment sparkled, and Jet was still elbow-deep in dirty dishes and just – why did two people in one house need so many teacups?  Especially when they owned a teashop?  That much tea had to be unhealthy.  It couldn’t possibly be safe for anyone’s body. 

He was starting to get why Li complained about this all the time. 

Being in the house when other people were there was so insightful.

Jet wasn’t sure he’d wanted this insight.

Finally, though, Jet had finished his list, and gotten his chance.  Mushi had to leave to check on the shop.

“Just do your best to keep his fever down,” his boss instructed as he stood in the door way.  Jet nodded.  “And don’t let him get out of bed – when he wakes up, he will try.”  Jet nodded again, as if he hadn’t just been told this four times in a row.  “And—”

“Have water on hand for him to drink when he wakes up,” he finished.  Mushi let out a chuckle and nodded, and then he’d been off.  And he’d definitely been impressed when he’d gotten back.  Li had woken maybe once or twice while the old man had been gone, not even a little bit lucid, and one of those times there had been more of his boyfriend’s internal fluids expelled from his body than Jet had ever needed to deal with – especially given that they weren’t the sexy kind.  Ew.

Impressing Li was almost not worth that at all.  And then Mushi had made him clean it when he’d gotten home predictably right at that moment.  Ugh.  Sometimes Jet questioned his own commitment to a cause.

But the former Freedom Fighter was smart enough to know that this thing with Li would never last if he didn’t get the other boy’s uncle on board, and even more than that – he was determined to prove Sokka wrong.  He _was_ in love with Li.  He wouldn’t clean someone’s puke just for the fun of it. 

Next to him, on his futon, the sick teen suddenly stirred. 

“Li?” Jet ventured, leaning closer to the other boy.  “How are you feeling?”  In the dim light of the room, he could make out a glazed look staring in his direction.

“Jet?” Li asked.  His voice was weak, but he seemed a lot more aware than he had been all day.  “What’re you—,” he broke off into a coughing fit, and Jet jumped up, ready to help with a cup of water at the ready.  His boyfriend gratefully drank it down when the fit let up, and Jet took to explaining.

“You’re sick,” he said simply.

“ _Obviously_ ,” Li rasped weakly, because even a deadly illness couldn’t stop his sarcasm.  Or not that deadly, all things considered. Either way, Jet was willing to admit that he’d probably deserved that jab.  Especially if the sick teen felt as bad as he looked. 

“I volunteered to look after you so your uncle could get some rest,” Jet continued.  He was meant with a muffled grunt, and Li closed his eyes back and shifted on his futon.  “Also so you don’t die in the night or something.  Because that would kind of suck.  We haven’t even really gotten to do anything yet as boyfriends.”  That got a faint shrug.  “Like go on a real date. But not like a lame date like you had with Jin – I think we can consider that whole situation forgiven, by the way.”  That got a less muffled, more irritated wordless grumble from Li.  “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, actually.  I want to take you some place really cool, like – oh, hey, so did you know Ba Sing Se has all these secret underground tunnels?  I stumbled across them the other day exploring around with Longshot.  I don’t know how far under the city they extend, but I think you’d really like them.  They’re cool and secret – kind of like you, huh?  So I was thinking to show you.” 

“Sounds nice,” Li breathed out.

“So how’re you feeling?  You never answered.” 

“Bad.”  Taciturn took on a whole new meaning when Li was sick, it seemed.  Although it did seem like the boy was fighting to stay awake with each passing moment.  “Weird dreams.”

“Wanna tell me about them?”  Jet waited a few moment, and when no answer came, he prompted again, “Li?”  This time, he got a snore.  Just like that, his boyfriend was out again.  Oh, well.

Jet yawned, and stretched out on the mat beside the bed.  Heads tucked under his head, he stared up at the ceiling.  He really made a noble effort to stay awake, but it was dark and entirely too late at night, and Li didn’t seem to be dying at the moment, so before he knew it, Jet had joined his boyfriend in sleep.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Zuko knew something was different the moment he woke up.  He couldn’t put his finger on it, exactly; not at first.  He wasn’t sick anymore, for one thing.  But it was something bigger than that.  The sun streamed down on his face from the window, and he let himself bask in it.  From the looks of the sky and the feel of the air, it was about to be a beautiful day in Ba Sing Se.  He sat up with a stretch and a yawn, and then noticed something he hadn’t before:  Jet snoring lightly on the floor next to his futon. 

Even when deciding – against Sokka’s honestly kind of terrible advice – that he was going to give this thing with Jet a shot, he had never in a million years imagined that the Freedom Fighter would help take care of him if he got sick.  Then again, he’d never expected to get sick.  Although, his uncle’s words about how it hadn’t been a natural sickness rang faintly in the back of his mind.  Zuko pushed that thought away and reached out to shake Jet awake.  It took a second, but then the other boy was blinking up at him blearily.

“Li?” he asked through a yawn.

“Morning,” Zuko replied.  Jet sat up himself, and then frowned at him.  “What?”

“Are you…feeling okay?” his newly minted boyfriend asked cautiously, raising a hand to Zuko’s forehead to check his fever – which was at this point completely gone.

“Never better.  Why?”   

“No reason.  I mean.  You do seem to be, I don’t know…happier than usual?”  Jet looked faintly disturbed, and Zuko put his finger on it.  That’s exactly what it was.  He was happy! Which was kind of weird that he hadn’t realised that’s what it was when he first woke up. 

That said way too much about his life that Zuko couldn’t recognize happiness when he felt it.

“I can be happy,” he said with a laugh.  Jet looked slightly more disturbed at that.

“I can see that.”

The banished prince (and, strangely, that situation didn’t seem to bother him so much anymore; neither did anything relating to Appa or Sokka for that matter) pushed himself up out of bed and walked over to his closet, pulling on his clothes for the day.  The smell of food wafted into his room from where Iroh was probably cooking breakfast.  Zuko left Jet, still in a stupor over his boyfriend’s new attitude, behind and walked out of his room.  Iroh stood stirring a pot.

“What’s that smell?” Zuko asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

His uncle turned towards him, an eyebrow raised.  “It’s jook,” he replied, “I’m sure you wouldn’t like it.” 

Zuko surprised both himself and his uncle by leaning over the pot and smelling it.  It was like floating on clouds. Or that one time he’d accidentally consumed cactus juice, much to the amusement of his crew. This must be why people liked being happy so much.  “Actually, it smells delicious,” he said.  He picked up one of the bowls.  “I’d love a bowl, Uncle.”

Iroh stared at him suspiciously, but acquiesced and ladled the jook into Zuko’s proffered bowl.  “Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow.”

Zuko shrugged and then surprised himself even more by smiling a bit wider.  “It’s a new day,” he said brightly.  “We’ve got a really nice apartment, a booming teashop, and I’ve got a boyfriend.”  He hadn’t actually meant to let slip that last part, but Iroh seemed unsurprised. Of course – his uncle was definitely perceptive and Jet wasn’t subtle at all.  But there was no chiding or disapproving looks, so Zuko took that as a win.  “Things are looking up, Uncle.” 

Iroh broke out into a smile when Zuko took his place at the table and sipped at his breakfast.  A few moments later Jet stumbled into the room with a yawn. 

“Morning, Mushi,” he greeted. 

“Jet,” the old man nodded towards him pleasantly.  “We have jook for breakfast if you would like some. Feeding you is the least I can do to thank you for so diligently taking care of my nephew while he was sick.”  Jet grinned a little bashfully – it had to be an act, Zuko thought with an internal snort; Jet was anything but bashful at any given moment – and then ladled out some food for himself and joined them at the table.  Iroh had a certain mischievous look in his eye that made Zuko stop and pay attention. 

The old man waited until Jet took his first gulp before he abruptly said, “So I hear you are dating my nephew now.”  The ensuing choking and sputtering from Jet’s end was, honestly, hilarious, and Zuko found for the first time in a long time that laughing was actually really fun to do.

This happiness thing was kind of great; he was really going to have to try and invest more time into maintaining it in the future.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Sokka had never felt more conflicted than he did at this very moment.  The whole gang stood at the foot of the Earth King’s palace, saying their goodbyes.  The morning was bright – beautiful.  But he couldn’t stop the anxiety that had been slowly building in him since he found out Zuko was sick.  Somehow Jet was going to use this, and Sokka swore that by the time he made it back to the city, not only would they be married, but somewhere along the way they would’ve managed to adopt three kids.  Three slightly angry, completely smarmy, wheat chewing, sword-wielding, bad-tempered kids.  With a slightly abnormal love of tea, if Iroh had any influence over them.  Which he would.  It was honestly going to be terrible. 

But on the flip side, Sokka was going to see his dad again.  His first time seeing his dad as a proper man, thanks to Bato.  A fully-fledged water tribesman.  He was ecstatic, and not about to change this for anything.  And not only that:  he had good news to tell his father about the war.  They had a way to end everything once and for all, and he couldn’t wait to be the one to tell Hakoda. 

But, still.  Zuko and Jet. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aang get his blushy face on with Katara and start to get all stammery.  He frowned – he loved the guy, really; Aang was a stand up kid.  But some things just needed to be nipped in the bud while there was a war going on.  And, seriously – why was Sokka managing everyone’s love lives but his own? 

He dived in, huge grin plastered over his face, and tossed an arm around Aang’s neck to trap the Avatar in a headlock.   “Alright!” Sokka exclaimed.  “Who’s ready to get going on our little men-only man trip?”  He gave Aang a noogie for good measure. Katara stared at him in disbelief and irritation.  Per the course. 

“Aang and Sokka, I wish you a good journey,” the King suddenly said, and Sokka world around with Aang still trapped under his arm to find the royal had somehow managed to sneak up on them.  “Ba Sing Se owes you its thanks, and we look forward to your return.”  Sokka let go of Aang, and they bowed respectfully to Kuei before he moved to board Appa.

“Your majesty!” A guard called, approaching the king, “There are three female warriors here to see you; they’re from the island of Kyoshi.”

“That’s Suki!”  Sokka shouted excitedly.  So excitedly that he lost his grip, slipped off Appa, and fell to the ground hard.  “Ow.”

“You know these warriors?” Kuei asked curiously.

Sokka stood back up. “Oh, yeah! The Kyoshi warriors are a skilled group of fighters – trustworthy, too.  They’re good friends of ours!” And if Suki was back, then maybe Sokka was about to start managing his own love life again, too!

Kuei nodded.  “Then we shall welcome them as honored guests.”

Sokka nodded emphatically. Suki was going to be the biggest help – he could probably even tell her about the whole Zuko thing!  Although, actually, maybe not.  Given the circumstances under which they’d met and all.  A shame, really, as she’d probably give better advice than _Toph_.

Toph, who was currently in a group hug with Aang and Katara.  Sokka frowned, sticking his lip out, and crossed his arms defiantly.  They stared at him.  He stared back.  And suddenly, Aang, Katara, and even Toph, too, were swarming him with a hug.  It was so emotional he almost even forgot about how Jet was going to run away to the mountains with Zuko and raise five kids and a farm of ostrich horses with him.  Somehow.

“Great, that’s enough!” Sokka finally said, attempting to push his friends and sister away.  Unsuccessfully.  “Okay, we love each other.  Seriously.”  He finally managed to get free, and then climbed up onto Appa.  Aang joined him, and with final waves and shouts of goodbye, they took to the sky.

Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad, after all, he realised suddenly.  And Aang always could use some cheering up, so Sokka decided to share.

“You see Aang, a little positive thinking works wonders.  We’ve got the king on our side, we got Long Feng arrested, and when we get back, Suki’s waiting for me!”  He avidly did not think about Zuko.  But then, hey, maybe things with Zuko could be fixed with his newfound love of positive thinking.

“Yeah,” Aang replied breathily, “Girls are waiting for us.  Thanks, positive attitude.”

Sokka, feeling much better about his lot in life with the thought of seeing his dad and Suki first and foremost in his mind, nodded and added, “Everything’s gonna work out perfectly, from now on and forever.”

In fact, by the time he got back, Zuko would probably have learned to make good decisions and dumped Jet completely. It would be great.  Everything was going to be okay. 

** TBC… **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A significant amount of lines quoted from the show here, credit to where it's due.


	17. Outside Looking In(terlude)

**_ Once Upon a Teashop _ **

_Jin_

It had taken weeks for Jin to work up the courage to step foot back in the Jasmine Dragon.  That was understandable, really, given the way things had gone down with Li.  He was still cute and adorable in that weird kind of socially awkward way, but that social awkwardness wasn’t any comfort when it meant he left in the middle of a date with a brief, unexplained apology.  Every time she’d thought of coming back to get some tea, a mix of embarrassment and anger had won out.  But it had been weeks and Mushi’s tea was so good, the best in the city – bordering on addictive, really – and, well, Jin did have that coupon, still, and only so much willpower.

So now here the young Earth Kingdom girl found herself:  once more seated at a table in the Jasmine Dragon.  And, as luck would have it (bad luck), her server turned out to be none other than the boy himself, whose face went a truly abnormal shade of red when he saw her.

“Li,” she greeted coolly.  That abrupt ending to that date still grated.  More than she’d even noticed, Jin now realised, staring her former crush in the face again.

“Uh, hi, Jin,” Li greeted.  Surprisingly warmly, she noticed.  He’d even managed to muster up a faint smile.  As far as her recollection went, this might honestly have been the first time she’d ever – ever! – seen him smile.  And it was oddly sincere, too, was the weird part.  “How are you?” he continued, face growing more flustered.  “I didn’t think you would, uh…that you’d come by again.  After what happened.”  He paused.  “I am sorry about that.  I mean.  Leaving like that.  It was…wrong.  There’s just been a lot going on in my life lately, and I’ve been going through some stuff.  But I’m over it now.  Not that I’m saying we should do it again.  Just that it was wrong to leave like that.  And I’m sorry.  Again.  Uh.”  Li rubbed one arm nervously, his smile turning more apologetic. 

It was so weird.

Jin nodded noncommittally, though.  “Well, I did have this coupon,” she said.  “And your uncle’s tea is the best in the city.  I tried to stay away, but…” she trailed off, unsure what to say. Li stood there fidgeting, and Jin averted her gaze, glancing around the room.  There was distinctly something missing here, she realised.  Maybe it explained his weird happy mood all of a sudden.  “Your friends aren’t around,” she commented, pitching her voice light to make it sound as if she’d idly noticed.  What was most surprising about Li’s response is that he didn’t immediately deny his friendship with either of those boys like had had before.  Instead, he just shrugged.

“Ah.  Yeah, Sokka doesn’t work here anymore.  He’s probably left the city by now.”  Jin hadn’t realised leaving Ba Sing Se was actually an option for people.  “And Jet’s just in the back right now.  He and I, uh…well.  I mean, Jet and I are together.  Now.  We’re dating.  Or something.  Although you probably don’t want to hear about that.”

Oh, but Jin did.  Her eyes widened and she leaned forward slightly.  Spirits, did that explain so much!  Jin felt a profound sense of relief which surprised her.  But in light of this news, it seemed like Li hadn’t blown her off like that because of anything she had done so much as he’d already been into someone else and just hadn’t realised it. 

“Wow,” she said.  “I’m happy for you.  Really.  You seem happier.”

Li shrugged again.  “People keep saying that to me today.  But I think I am.  Or I’m trying to be.  I guess I just woke up this morning and realised that things aren’t so bad as I thought.  And Jet’s not as bad as I thought, either.” Jin didn’t know Jet that well, but based off what she did know, she very much doubted that last sentence.  But then, hey, Li did seem actually content for the first time ever, and to each their own.  “Oh, uh, what about you?”

“I’ve been good,” she said.  “I mean, I’ve been kind of mad at you a bit.  Partially because it felt like coming to get my favourite tea was going to be weird and awkward so I haven’t been able to.  But I met someone, too.  He’s nice.” 

This was awkward.  It was more awkward than she’d expected when she’d walked in.  They stared at each other, equally flustered she was sure – which was definitely a feat given how hard Li was blushing – until the boy jerked his eyes away and coughed.

“So.  Tea?”

“Yes, tea!  Of course.”

_Hakoda_

Hakoda couldn’t believe his good fortune.  Sokka was _here_. His son, so…big, so smart, an actual _man_ now stood in front of him.  The minute he’d rejoined the fleet, Bato had been sure to tell Hakoda how his boy – his _young_ _man_ , the water tribesman mentally corrected himself – was travelling around the world with the Avatar himself, helping win the war against the Fire Nation.  To actually see Sokka in action, though, filled Hakoda’s heart with more pride than a father could contain.

His only wish was that Katara could have come, too, but Sokka had explained the situation.  His daughter had stayed in Ba Sing Se to help facilitate and coordinate a play to defeat the Fire Nation – to end this spirits damned war once and for all.

His own children.

The men had been working all day to take out Fire Navy ships, but it was late now, and Hakoda sat with his son in his tent, catching up on everything he’d missed out on over the past two years.  It was a lot more than he’d ever thought. 

“—so Foo Foo Cuddlypoops left with his mom, and I never saw him again.  And Toph got me out of the hole I was stuck in, and that was the end of that.” Sokka finished his story with an overly exaggerated sigh.  Hakoda laughed. 

“Sounds like quite an adventure.”

“Yeah, it was.” 

They lapsed into silence – their first real break in talking in the last two hours, until Sokka suddenly spoke up, voice more cautious than Hakoda liked.  He wanted his son to be completely comfortable to talk about anything with him.  It made the man wonder if he’d damaged his relationship with his kids in some way by leaving for war the way he’d had to.

“Hey, dad?” the boy asked.

“Hm?”

“Can I tell you something?  It’s a secret, though.  Kind of.  I mean, definitely.  A really, really big one.  Huge.  Like, life or death for some of the parties involved.  And it’s gonna sound really, really bad, but it’s not, I promise.  And I just need you to trust me on that?  Please?  Because I desperately need some advice and I can’t really tell anyone – especially not Katara; she would freak!  And I mean, Toph already knows, she’s the only one, but she’s a kid – Aang’s a kid, too, and he’d probably be more understanding, but he’s prone to rash decision making, so I just.  Well.  I need real advice.  From an adult.  And you’re an adult!  You’re kind of the only adult I can talk to.  And also my dad.  But promise me you won’t tell anyone, please?”

Hakoda blinked as he was completely taken aback.  Sokka stared up at him, imploring and cautious. 

“Is it something about the war?” the man asked his son as seriously as possible.  It seemed like it might be, and it seemed like it was definitely serious.

Sokka mulled the question over for a second.  “Ostensibly,” he replied.  “But it’s kind of more personal than that.”

“I’ll hear you out, but if it’s something that needs to be shared I can’t promise that, son.”

Sokka nodded slowly, rocking back in his seat.  “That’s fair, I guess.”

“So what is it you want to tell me?”

“So…you know Zuko, right?”

“The Fire Nation prince?” Hakoda asked.  Sokka nodded much more emphatically.  “I’ve never met him, no.  Heard of him.  Specifically, how he’s been chasing you and your friends around the world.”

“Used to chase us,” Sokka corrected way too fast.  “He, uh, doesn’t really do that anymore.”

That got a raised eyebrow out of Hakoda.  “He doesn’t?  Isn’t capturing the Avatar the only way he can go home?  From what I know, that kid is desperate – that makes him dangerous.”

“I know!” Sokka exclaimed.  “I completely agree.  And I definitely, definitely used to think that way about him, but that was before, well.  Before we kind of became…friends?”

Stunned silence.  Hakoda opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything.  He had to have heard wrong.  Or maybe Sokka meant something completely different – maybe the kids these days used ‘friend’ as some kind of slang term that he just didn’t get, and he was missing important context to the conversation.

“You’re… _friends_ …with the prince of the Fire Nation?”

Sokka gave his dad a sheepish grin.  “Kind of?  I mean. And this is the secret, and please, please, please don’t tell anyone, dad, but:  Zuko and his uncle have been living in Ba Sing Se for the past few months.  And I know what you’re thinking.  The Fire Nation have invaded Ba Sing Se!”  That was actually word for word what Hakoda was thinking.  “I thought it, too!  But they’re not.  They’re just refugees.  Spirits, they’re…they’re running a teashop!  You don’t open your own teashop when you’re secretly evil.  And Zuko is definitely dangerous, but mostly to himself.  He’s just…ugh, he’s so stupid!  But I’m getting distracted.”  Sokka stopped and took in a huge gulp of air.  He’d gone a bit too fast in his rush to explain before his dad could react, it looked like.  That was something that hadn’t changed about him in the past few years, Hakoda was pleased to see.

“Zuko and Iroh are both wanted by the Fire Nation.  If they don’t hide in Ba Sing Se, there’s really nowhere else for them to live.  And I mean, Zuko’s done a lot of bad stuff, yeah, but he’s also done a lot of good stuff, too.  Stuff I haven’t told Aang about, like…I told you how Appa got stolen while we were in the desert.  Zuko’s the one who found him for me.  And gave him back to me.  No questions, no trying to capture Aang, he just found him, freed him, and handed him over.  And I’m pretty sure he’s also saved Aang’s life before, although I don’t know if Aang knows it was Zuko or not.”

“So let me get this straight,” Hakoda interrupted.  He wanted to clarify what he was hearing before Sokka took this any further and ended up twisting his brain into all kinds of weird shapes trying to wrap his mind around what he was hearing.  “You’re telling me that the prince of the Fire Nation is no longer chasing the Avatar, living in Ba Sing Se as a refugee, and you’ve become friends with him.  And he’s actively helped you.”

“Yes!” Sokka exclaimed, hope lighting up his eyes.  “Although, _actively_ might be a little strong.  He was kind of trying to get rid of me, because like I said, he’s an _idiot_.  He’s not even as bad as he liked to pretend he was, he’s just the most socially awkward person I’ve ever met.  I honestly think I might be his first real friend? Ever? But given that his dad is the most evil person alive, it kind of makes sense, you know.”

“Uh-huh.  What advice did you need?”

“Well, okay, so there’s this guy, Jet.  He’s terrible.  The _worst_.  I hate him.  Katara _definitely_ hates him. Aang would hate him if he were actually capable of hating anybody. Zuko used to hate him, but somewhere along the line he listened to me and my stupid mouth, and now he and Jet are dating and it’s terrible, dad; it’s so bad.  Jet hates the Fire Nation!  Like, next-level, tried to murder a whole village once, hates.  And obviously he doesn’t know the truth, and just, this is going to end so badly and I don’t know what to do!  I have to break them up.  For Zuko’s own good.  Toph likes to imply it’s because I’m into Zuko or something, but I mean, just because he smells really good doesn’t mean I like him, okay.  I’m just worried about him.  As his friend.”

Hakoda’s mouth had fallen open somewhere during the whole diatribe, and now he just sat staring at his son in disbelief.  Sokka stared back.

“What?” he asked.

“So you want my help…with romance advice…pertaining to the prince of the Fire Nation?”  His son seemed to have developed some kind of romantic feelings towards the former heir to the Fire Nation throne.  That wasn’t unusual at all.  Nope.  Hakoda could handle this.  And he did trust Sokka’s judgment – he was young, but he wasn’t stupid.  And he had always been an excellent judge of character.

“Yes,” Sokka replied emphatically. And then added in a rush, “But not, like, for me or anything.  Just for Zuko.  I don’t want Zuko.  I don’t want anyone!  Except Suki.  I told you about Suki, right?  She smells nice, too.  Not like Zuko nice, a different nice.  A nice that I like!  I don’t like Zuko’s nice.  He’s not my boyfriend.”

Well.  Hakoda sighed.  It seemed like he had a lot more work cut out for him with his son than he had anticipated.  Sokka had a thing for the prince of the Fire Nation.  Okay. He could deal with this.  He could handle it.  He could be a good dad about it.  He would be a good dad.

It was just going to take a minute to really wrap his head around what Sokka was selling here.

_Iroh_

Jet was a conundrum.  Or rather, Jet was fairly simple, Iroh mused, but his nephew’s reaction to Jet was a conundrum.  The boy himself Iroh had some level of respect for.  He was a hard worker – diligent and committed.  And he held strong to his principles, even if it wasn’t the smartest move or said principles were misguided.  It was easy to see what Zuko liked about him.  They had much in common.

Still.  There was the ever-looming issue of the war.  Zuko did know better.

Iroh had long ago learned that the best way to deal with his nephew was with a more hands off approach.  Zuko would usually heed his advice with much grumbling, complaining, and the odd bit of shouting, but he bucked hard against being explicitly told what to do by anyone.

Unfortunate, really.  This was one such time that Iroh wished he could just tell his nephew ‘no’ and be listened to. 

“Here are the things you wanted, Mushi,” Jet announced himself, walking into the room with a crateful of supplies.

“Thank you, Jet,” he replied with an affable smile.  The boy smiled back, the faintest hint of caution behind his eyes – an obvious bit of distrust that Iroh admittedly acknowledged was well deserved.  Heating his tea had been a brief moment of foolishness, but in his defense the temperature of his drink had been quite frankly insulting.  Jet didn’t look at Zuko like that anymore.  He trusted him again, which was good.  It was part of the reason Iroh had chosen to hire Jet on. It made for a more peaceful life when they didn’t have someone constantly hounding them about possible firebending.  Much simpler and safer than their first few weeks in the city.

“Mushi?” Jet asked.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say that I knew we kind of started off on the wrong foot with me accusing you and Li of being Fire Nation and trying to get you arrested and all, and I’m sorry about that, by the way.  But thank you for giving me this job and letting me help when Li was sick.”

“The way you work is commendable.  You are an excellent worker, Jet,” Iroh replied, always willing to give credit where credit was due.  “And your apology is accepted.”  The old man paused for a second, and Jet watched him expectantly.  “However,” Iroh continued, “If you are seeking my approval for your relationship with my nephew, his choices are his own.  I will support him either way.  What I think makes no difference,” he ended with a chuckle.  Zuko learned lessons the hard way by making things needlessly complicated for himself.  It was just his way.

Jet, though, didn’t accept this.  “But it does,” he implored.  “It matters to him.”

Jet was a very intelligent boy.  But as many issues as Zuko had to work through – and had been unconsciously working through the past few years – Jet, it seemed, had more.  He was seeking something specific here, but the amount of hatred he fostered in his heart towards the Fire Nation meant Iroh could not and would not give it.  Not to Jet.

“My nephew’s choices are his own,” Iroh reiterated.

Jet’s hopeful face fell and he nodded, despondent.  “Okay,” he said.  “Thanks.”  And walked away.

It was almost a shame, really.  Jet had all the makings of a potentially fine young man.

_Katara_

Ba Sing Se, as bustling and noisy as it was, seemed strangely empty with the whole gang gone.  It was nice.  Quiet at home.  Peaceful.  Katara was able to enjoy her downtime at her own pace for possibly the first time ever. 

Not that she had much downtime.  Planning a war-ending surprise attack took up a surprising amount of time.  But finally, after days of meetings, they were done.  The scrolls with the plans were written and in her possession, needing only the Earth King’s signature. That was her final task here now. 

This called for a celebration.

The waterbender had been wandering around the market for the past few minutes trying to decide where to stop when a building bustling with activity caught her eye.

“Excuse me, sir?”  Katara asked, stopping a nearby passerby.  “Can you tell me what that place over there is?”

The man looked to where she was pointing and laughed.  “You must be new around here.  That’s the Jasmine Dragon.  Best tea in the city, hands down.”

“Oh, thanks!”

“Not a problem,” he replied, and continued on his merry way.

Tea.  That sounded delightful.  The perfect way to celebrate.

“What do you say, Momo?” she asked the Lemur perched in her arms.  “A cup of tea before we get back to the king?”

Momo meeped what she took to be agreement, and so, with a confident smile on her face and a lightness in her heart– feeling on top of the world – Katara stepped inside.

**_TBC…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared for shit getting real real, real fast.


	18. Best Date Ever

“I gotta say,” Jet said, “I like this new, happy you.”  He plopped down into a seat next to his boyfriend.  The last few days had been amazingly pleasant.  Li hadn’t seriously insulted him more than twice – which was impressive given Jet’s terrible habit of shooting himself in the foot – and Jet had gotten more smiles from the other boy than he’d even known Li’s face was capable of producing.  Seriously, he’d thought the guy’s muscles just didn’t stretch that way.

“I kinda like it, too,” Li said, and there it was.  Another smile.  Freaky but nice, all at the same time.  

The shop had closed for the day, and now they sat taking a break from cleanup.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Is it something stupid?”

Jet ignored the predictable reply.  Li could only get _so_ nice, after all, happy or not.  Otherwise, it’d be a waste.  Jet liked people with bite.  He’d liked that in Katara, as badly as that had ended, and he liked it in Li.

“What, exactly, happened to your parents?  Why do you travel with your uncle?”

Li shut down instantly, the smile dropping from his face.  He turned his face away and crossed his arms, frowning at the floor.  “I don’t want to talk about that.”  Jet wasn’t surprised, so he backtracked a bit to what was, hopefully, a slightly safer topic.

“Your mom, then?  How’d she die?”

“I don’t know,” his boyfriend replied, which, hey, progress.  Sharing.  But also weird.  “She was there one day, and gone the next.  I don’t know what happened to her or how she died.  But I don’t want to talk about it.”

Jet chewed on his wheat stalk in thoughtful contemplation, letting silence lapse between them.  It was awkward now.  He’d ruined the good vibes between them, and wanted to figure out how to get them back.  The Freedom Fighter went with the first idea that popped into his head.

“So, hey,” Jet began again, somewhat abruptly by Li’s jerking reaction.  “Do you want to go somewhere later?”

Li stared back at him blankly, one eye narrowed, like he wasn’t sure what was being said.  “We go places together all the time.”

“Yeah, but let’s go somewhere for _real_ ,” Jet pressed.  He saw the moment Li’s eyes widened minutely when he got the implication.

“Like…a date?”

“Yeah,” Jet said, tilting his head in a brief nod.  “A real one.  I mean, we are dating now, right?  We should go on one for real like I said I wanted to when you were sick.”

Li’s lone eyebrow arched high.  “I don’t remember that at all.”

“Course you don’t – you were barely lucid.  But let’s go.  I could show you these awesome underground caves I found.”

Li shrugged.  “Sure, why not,” he said, and then stood up.  “Let’s get back to work; finish up here.”  The shorter boy then wandered off and grabbed his broom from where it’d been abandoned leaning against the wall.  Jet huffed, but jumped up and joined him, wiping down tables.  The faster they got finished, the faster they could be on their dating way.

It was slightly upsetting, then, when a few minutes later their plans ended up being upturned by an official looking man entering the show, bearing a scroll.  Li paused in his sweeping.

“Can I help you?

“Yes, I’m looking for the owner of this establishment? I have a message from the royal palace.” 

Li blinked, then turned.  “Uncle!” he called, and a few seconds later the old man came bustling in from the back. 

“A message,” the man repeated with a bow, holding the scroll out for Mushi, “from the royal palace.”

Cautiously, Jet’s boss took and opened the scroll, worry written in the lines of his face. 

“I can’t believe it!” he finally exclaimed, eyes wide.  Jet was curious.  Li, too, as he walked over to his uncle.

“What is it, Uncle?”

“Great news!” Mushi laughed.  “We’ve been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!”

“Wow, really?” Li asked.

“Tomorrow! I have so much to prepare.  Li, we must get ready!”  And the old man rushed to the backroom. 

Smiling, Li shook his head, then turned to Jet.  “Maybe just dinner,” he said.  “I think Uncle’s going to need me.  We can explore those caves another time.”

“Okay.  Sounds good.”

It was a little disappointing, but there was nothing to it, Jet realised. At least dinner would still be nice.  He had the perfect place in mind – a cheap little noodle stop he liked.  Something quick and easy they could just grab and go. Li didn’t really seem like the kind of guy who’d be impressed with a fancy sit down dinner.  He was the Blue Spirit, after all.  Pretty rough and tumble.  A man of action, much like Jet himself. 

Oh, and maybe they could have a picnic at sunset. That sounded nice, Jet thought.  Romantic.  Or was that too sappy?  Li didn’t seem the type for sap, either.  Jet had finally managed to snag his man somehow – he didn’t want to keep coming off as _too_ desperate like before.  Li would dump him for sure. 

Dating was hard.  Dating Li was even harder.

But everyone liked noodles, Jet reaffirmed in his mind.  Li liked noodles. He really couldn’t go wrong with noodles.  Noodles, and then they’d go sit somewhere.  And it would just happen to be sunset, so it would still be totally chill.  Yes, it was a good plan. 

This was going to be the best date ever.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Zuko was pretty sure this was the worst date ever.  That was somewhat impressive, honestly, given that his entire dating experience consisted of this and his two extremely terrible crashed and burned dates with Jin.  But in Jin’s defense, the girl had at least put effort in.  It wasn’t her fault said efforts had been ruined by outside forces like Jet and Sokka and Zuko’s own bad attitude.

Jet clearly hadn’t even tried.

Suffice to say, Zuko was unimpressed.  Almost enough to knock him off the happy cloud he’d been riding the past few days, but he held strong.  This optimism thing seemed to be working for him, and he’d be damned if he let one bad date ruin it for him.  It would take something major to knock him off this happy train.  Something like…like…something like Azula secretly infiltrating Ba Sing Se, executing a successful coup to conquer the city, and even managing to capture Zuko along the way.  But that wasn’t likely to happen, and so happy the prince would remain. 

Even though Jet was determined to make it really, really hard. 

“This is it?” he asked, eyebrow raised.  His chopsticks idly stirred through the slop that was trying to pass for edible – apparently noodles – and Zuko didn’t even make the faintest effort to keep the disgust from showing on his face.  And he’d been doing a bang up job of not being disgusted or irritated or angry or generally unpleasant at all for days.  “This is our date?””

“I mean, sure, it’s no underground cavern.   But I thought you liked noodles.”

Frustration.  That’s what this was he felt right now. “Yeah, I like noodles.  Good noodles.  Not whatever this slop is.”

“This is quality, cheap food.  I didn’t take you for a fancy kind of guy, Li.”

The food was cheap, yes.  And sure, it was quality.  _Bad_ quality.  Zuko breathed in deeply through his nose and out through his mouth.  Unlike before, though, he didn’t get mad.  It was easy to console himself when he remembered that Jet was, at least, making some kind of an effort.  A terribly bad, completely misjudged effort, but one none the less.  His zen state was completely reachieved (even though he was still definitely, completely, and totally offended because of _course_ he was a fancy kind of guy). 

“Just get up; we’re going somewhere else.”  He pushed himself up, not waiting for Jet.  He also ignored the other boy’s mumbled grumbling.  Zuko didn’t look back to see if his boyfriend was following as he walked off briskly.  It didn’t matter that they’d already paid for the food.  It had cost pennies, and hadn’t been worth a single one.  Zuko didn’t know much about dating, but he knew for sure he both wanted and deserved better than _that_.

And so, better than that is where he led Jet.

“Uh…this is where you want to eat?” Jet asked, staring up at the decadent building in front of them with a blank expression.  Zuko raised his eyebrow at Jet again.

“Yeah?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s nice?”

“This place is _crazy_ expensive.”  The prince rolled his eyes.  It was a little pricey, but there were benefits of running a high-end, popular, successful teashop with his uncle.

“Compared to your noodle shop, maybe.  Uncle pays us more than enough – we can afford it.”

“It’s not about affording it,” Jet scoffed.  “It’s about it being a waste of money.”  Good food was never a waste of money, and Zuko was entirely sure if Sokka were here he would agree.  Not that Zuko was thinking about Sokka being here, on his date with Jet.  Or on a date without Jet.  Just kind of a more general here.

“Those noodles were a waste of money,” the firebender settled on as a response.  “Now, are we having an actual date or not?”  He clamped down on the insult about peasants that sat on the tip of his tongue.  It honestly wasn’t that nice a thing to say, for one, and for two there was the whole fake identity thing.  But, seriously, did Jet have no standards?  Even now he looked put out, glancing and and forth between Zuko and the front of the fancy restaurant.  The restaurant wasn’t even the fifth most expensive place in the immediate vicinity, and the vicinity they were in wasn’t even the most high-end.  Zuko _knew_ high-end. 

“Fine,” Jet finally conceded with a sigh.  “Okay.  Whatever.  Let’s go.  But I’m definitely not dressed for this.”

Now Jet was just nitpicking.  If he’d been wearing his usual clothes, sure, but he wasn’t.

“You’re still dressed for work.  You’re fine.” 

And before Jet could mount another protest, Zuko had dragged him inside.  Of course, Jet stopped trying to protest entirely once he actually tasted the food. 

“Okay, you’re right,” he said.  “This is definitely better.”

“Yeah, because they didn’t just find their slop in the middle of the gutter and then deign to call it food and serve it with some noodles tossed in.” He crinkled his nose, the nauseating taste still sitting on his tongue. 

Jet laughed.  “Harsh. But honestly, yeah, you surprised me here, Li.  I _really_ didn’t think you’d be a fancy place kind of guy.”

Zuko rolled his eyes.  “This place isn’t actually that fancy.  And just because you _can_ live off scraps doesn’t mean you have to if you can afford not to.” 

This place really wasn’t that fancy.  He and Iroh had come here once before, to celebrate the opening of the Jasmine Dragon.  At the time, Zuko had honestly hated it.  And hated that this was the nicest place they could afford.  Now, though…well, the food was great, and maybe the building was a tad over decorated (which is why Jet thought it was “fancy”), but it was a pretty good atmosphere, which is why Zuko had dragged them here.

Jet was just cheap.

Too cheap.

“I can’t believe you’re going to the Earth King’s palace tomorrow.”

“I know,” Zuko nodded.  “It’s kind of crazy.”

“By the end of the week, Mushi’ll be the most famous teamaker in the city.”

“You’re right,” Zuko said, his good eye widening marginally.  “We’re going to need to hire more workers.”

“But until then, we might as well celebrate, right?  So how about this:  tomorrow after you get back, I’ll plan something special.”

Zuko crooked his eyebrow.  “Special like your noodle bar special?”

It was Jet’s turn to roll his eyes.  “I was operating under a misconception about you before, but now that I know you secretly like decadence, I’ll make sure to plan appropriately."  Jet’s smile was way too sleazy.  Zuko crossed his arms and leant back in his seat.

“If you treat me like anything less than royalty, you’re doing it wrong.”

“You know, you’re a pretty funny guy when you’re not just mad at the world,” Jet said, laughing.

“Funnier than Sokka.”

“Oh, definitely.  But I am admittedly biased – Sokka’s the worst, and not nearly as funny as he thinks he is.”

“He’s not that bad,” the firebender said somewhat begrudgingly, a small frown tugging at his lips.

“I thought you were mad at him.”

“I got over it.  Remember when I was mad at you?”

“You mean every moment from when we first met until now?”

Okay, that was a fair point.  But it also was a point in Zuko’s favor, too, given that he used to generally be mad at everyone.  Also, Jet had deserved it.  Sokka, on the other hand, Zuko was willing to admit he might have overreacted on.  Sure, the other boy was wrong – _obviously_ , things with Jet were going _great_ – but he had just been trying to help.  Terribly.  Zuko was definitely going to apologise when he saw his friend again.  Because they were friends, and he’d been wrong to say otherwise. 

Not that it mattered.  Sokka was probably off with the Avatar already, gone from Ba Sing Se, and they’d never see each other again.

Kind of a shame, really.

Next time Zuko made a friend, he’d be sure to realise they were friends _before_ the other person exited his life permanently.

“Anyway, I have to get home.  This was fun, though.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah.  I mean, we’re coming back to the shop after we’re done at the palace anyway.”

“Cool,” Jet replied, leaning over to kiss Zuko.  Zuko met him halfway (he’d recently discovered that he quite liked kissing Jet), and then stood up, waving goodbye as he went.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Things had been going so well.  Perfectly.  Sokka should have known it wouldn’t last.  His father had been super helpful in the Zuko department, had acknowledged him as a proper man, and had invited him along on a Fire Navy raid.  Coming off the heels of Team Avatar’s winning streak in the war department, Aang landing Appa – solemn face and scared – right as Sokka was boarding his dad’s ship was definitely some kind of karmic retribution.

The universe was punishing him for inadvertently pushing Jet and Zuko together.

Although, no, this wasn’t the time for that.  Sokka was just trying not to focus on the fact that his baby sister, in Ba Sing Se, one of the (if not the only) safest cities in the world, was in some crazy mysterious kind of danger. 

“So what exactly did you see in this crazy vision of yours?” he demanded for the hundredth time.  “What kind of trouble is Katara in?”

“I told you already,” Aang replied.  “I don’t know.  In my vision, I just knew she needed help!”

“I knew I should’ve stayed in Ba Sing Se,” he grumbled under his breath.  And then, louder:  “It would be nice if your Avatar powers could be just a little more specific from time to time!”

Aang shrugged helplessly. 

Sokka sighed, the frustration welling up in him.  That’s when he heart it, a low rumble growing louder every second.  He peered off the back of Appa to see the rolling hills – literally, they were rolling, with someone on top of them.

“It’s Toph!”

Aang swung the reins, guiding Appa down closer.

“Need a ride?” Sokka called. 

Toph shrieked, losing her concentration, and went flying.

“My bad,” he said to Aang as they landed.

“What are you two dunderheads doing out here?” she asked when they’d gotten her loaded up on Appa.  “I wasn’t expecting you to be back so soon.”

“Katara’s in danger!” Aang exclaimed.

“Course she is,” the blind earthbender groused.

“What about you?” Sokka asked.

“Oh, you know, my parents tried to have me kidnapped.  But I’m the _greatest_ earthbender in the world who _ever_ lived so I kicked those guys’ butts and got away.”  The manic glint in her eyes promised a more exciting and complete story in the future.

“Oh.  That sucks.”

But Toph didn’t seem too put out by her parents’ kidnapping attempt, it seemed.

“So what kind of danger is Sugar Queen in?”

“Vague and unspecified,” Sokka said.  “Typical Avatar stuff.”

He lapsed into silence as Toph began quizzing Aang about the guru, and Aang very unconvincingly reassured them he now had the Avatar state under “perfect” control.  Sure.  They were definitely buying that.

Sokka was honestly more worried than he cared to admit.  But Suki was in the city, he reassured himself, and with the Kyoshi warriors.  Katara definitely would have met up with them, and they were definitely safe.  Aang was probably just overreacting as he was prone to do when Katara was involved.  Or having a vision of the future that hadn’t happened yet.  It’s not like they weren’t normally in danger on a daily basis.

So Sokka felt indescribable relief when they reached the city and Kuei told them Katara had been hanging out with the Kyoshi warriors this whole time. 

“See, Aang?  She’s with Suki.  They’re probably back at our apartment right now, talking about make up or something.”  Or how to eviscerate a man with their bare hands, but Sokka assumed Suki also had some truly fantastic make up tips. 

“Okay,” Aang said, still sounding slightly dubious, “Maybe you’re right.”

And then the Earth King said something about his bear’s animal instincts that really should’ve been a warning sign to Sokka that obviously things were going wrong somewhere.  Instead, it took walking back into their house to find it totally deserted save one flying lemur that clued him in. 

“There’s no one else here,” Toph said.

“Katara is in trouble!” Aang declared.  “I knew it!”

“Oh, no,” Sokka moaned.  This was bad.  What kind of trouble could she possibly have gotten into in Ba Sing Se of all places? 

“Wait, someone’s at the door,” Toph said suddenly, defenses up.  But then she paused, and a grin broke out on her face.  “Actually, I know who it is.  It’s a friend of ours!”  Sokka raised his eyebrows, as that had very definitely been directed at him.  Who did they both know in the city that Toph would refer to as a friend?  She was neutral to Jet, and Zuko probably would’ve prompted an uncalled for ‘boyfriend’ comment.  Not that Sokka thought Zuko would ever be dumb enough to show his face here in the middle of the day by knocking at the front door.  The water tribesman didn’t have to wait long, though, ad Toph bounded over to the door and slid it open.

“Hey Uncle!” she greeted cheerfully, even as behind her both Aang and Sokka’s mouths had dropped open in shock.  Aang because it was Iroh, and Sokka because, well, it was _Iroh_.  _Here_.  At their _door_.  What was he doing?

“Avatar,” the old man greeted somberly.  It made the nerves Sokka was already experience ratchet up to eleven.  “I need your help.”

** TBC… **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this might be the only chapter 'til January given I'm going out of town for the holidays and may not be able to update. But if I do skip the 23rd, I will be back with more on the 6th. See y'all next time!


	19. Royally Screwed

Zuko had royally screwed up.  He wasn’t sure if the emphasis belonged on the royally or the screwed, but either way the end result remained the same.  His royal behind was entirely screwed.

“Let go of me!” he protested, struggling futilely against the grip of the Dai Li agents who held him.  He wasn’t sure where they were taking him, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be anywhere good.  Not when Azula was involved.

 _Azula_.  Of course.  Of course she was involved.  Of course she was in the city, secretly conquering Ba Sing Se from within.  Zuko would have laughed if he wasn’t so outrageously pissed.  The zen he’d been riding on the last few days?  Officially shattered.  His zen was gone, never to be reclaimed again.  It had been nice while it lasted.

Then again, Zuko reasoned, he’d probably brought this on himself.  That much optimism could really only have ended this way.  With his hopes and dreams crushed entirely.  But he’d learned his lesson.  The prince was fairly determined that from now on, he would never let himself be that happy again.  It clearly only served to make him stupid.

Or maybe he was just stupid.  Zuko definitely got stupid whenever his little sister showed up, he could admit.  Trying to fight her instead of running with his uncle had, in hindsight, been extremely stupid.  Possibly stupider than his rather terrible kidnapping attempt back at the North Pole.  But as with most things in his life, Zuko adamantly swore that it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

The Dai Li stopped suddenly, opening a hole in the ground. 

“You’ve got company!” one of them called down, and Zuko had a moment where he crazily wondered who they were talking to before he was abruptly tossed down the hole.  The entrance sealed itself back as he tumbled, and he made an educated guess as to who they’d been talking when he came to a stop in a rather undignified sprawl and pushed himself up to his knees to find he wasn’t alone.

“Zuko?!” the blue-clad waterbender – _Katara_ , he reminded himself, _Sokka’s sister_ – exclaimed, glaring at him like she was going to be the one to murder him since so far Azula hadn’t seen fit to.  For some reason. 

Great.

He sighed and sat, settling in for what was bound to be a rather tedious afternoon followed with more talking – and probably shouting – than he was entirely comfortable with.  Especially if Sokka were any indicator. 

Ten minutes later, amidst all the yelling about the evils of the Fire Nation (and his own personal evil that Zuko was gracious enough to admit he probably deserved even if he did have his reasons), the prince had had enough.

“Look,” he interrupted, and the girl paused in her rant, seemingly more out of the shock at his audacity to stop her than any real consideration to be honest.  “Katara, right?” 

Zuko was going to play nice.  She was Sokka’s sister, and sure, they’d never had a positive interaction to date.  But then he’d never had a positive interaction with Sokka before Iroh had hired the other boy at the teashop and they were a weird sort of friends now.  So if he was going to play nice with the waterbender, he might as well do it properly. 

“Oh, so you know my name?” she snapped back.  “The great Prince Zuko deigns to use my actual name?  It doesn’t leave a sour, _poor_ taste in your mouth?”  The emphasis on poor was not missed.  All the peasant talk had probably not been called for.  Being poor was no joke, Zuko knew now.

Still, his jaw twitched in irritation.  “Of course I know your name.  I’d be stupid not to – and even if I didn’t before, I definitely would _now_ with how much Sokka can’t shut up about you and _Jet_!”

That was met by the sound of complete and total stunned silence, and even if Katara’s ever-reddening face wasn’t an indicator, a quick mental playback of what he’d just said had Zuko wanting to drop into a hole.

Well, Zuko was already dropped into a hole, but it seemed he was determined to just push himself lower today. 

Spirits damn it.

“What did you just say?”

“I know your name?” he answered weakly, choosing to be purposely obtuse.  He never, ever meant to tell anyone on the Avatar’s team that he and Sokka knew each other.  _Especially_ not the overemotional, headstrong sister.

“Don’t play dumb!” she yelled.  “I meant about my brother, and – and Jet!  What do you mean, ‘Sokka can’t shut up’!  And how do you even know who Jet is?” 

Zuko’s face flushed.  He really, really hadn’t meant for that to slip.  He definitely didn’t want to answer any of these questions, and he definitely, _definitely_ didn’t want to answer any questions about Jet.  So he started from the beginning, with the truth.  Albeit, a rather abridged version.

 _Being nice_ , he reminded himself.

“My uncle and I have been living in Ba Sing Se for the past few months,” he answered warily. 

“Probably the vanguard for your crazy sister!”

“ _You’re_ crazy if you think I’d even want anything to do with Azula’s plans! Or did you not notice that I’m trapped down here with you?  Or that I haven’t been following you guys at all?  We came here to start over!  Away from the war.  Away from the Fire Nation.  Uncle’s idea.  Sokka wandered into my Uncle’s teashop – because he runs his own teashop now – and found us weeks ago.  Uncle offered him a job; he took it; he worked there.  And so does Jet; its how I know him.  He’s a _friend_ of mine,” Zuko bit out.  That was more of an explanation than she deserved, for sure. 

Katara still scoffed at that.  “Jet?  Freedom Fighter, will hate the Fire Nation with his last breath Jet?  I’m supposed to believe he’s _your_ friend?  Even _he_ has better taste than that.”

“What, like you?” Zuko snapped back.  So much for being nice. 

The next bit of rage was, surprisingly, not directed towards him.  Seriously, Katara would have made an exceptional firebender with the amount of anger she carried around. 

“I’m going to kill Sokka when I see him!” she exclaimed.  “Strangle him!  Talking about my love life with – with the enemy!”

“I’m not your enemy,” Zuko snapped.  He wasn’t sure when, exactly, he’d decided that, but it rang true enough at the moment that he wanted her to believe it.  “Azula is.”

“Like you would ever give up hunting Aang!  It’s what you live for, you sick freak.”

“I _did_!” he exploded, jumping to his feet.  “Sokka also didn’t mention that I’m the one who found the Avatar’s _stupid_ bison for him, did he?!”

“Of course he didn’t!  Because it wasn’t you! He said it was the Blue Spirit, and I believe my brother!”

“Yeah, because he wasn’t lying!”  Well, if Zuko was spilling all his secrets today, what was one more to the pile. 

That stopped the girl short.  Katara spent a few moments floundering before she got herself together.  A disbelieving snort was her reply.

“Yeah, because I’m supposed to believe that _you’re_ the Blue Spirit?  Scourge of the Fire Nation?”

“Why don’t you just ask Sokka – or, _spirits_ , your _boyfriend_ the _Avatar_!”

“Aang is not my boyfriend!” she yelled.  That seemed to trigger something in her, maybe a memory, because all of a sudden the waterbender looked horrified and a tad disgusted.  None of that explained why the next words out of her mouth were:  “And you’re not Sokka’s!”

“Ew, Agni, no!  I have a boyfriend, and he is definitely, definitely not Sokka!”  And Sokka entirely disapproved, but that was a whole other discussion. “Where in all the spirit world would you get an idea like that?”

Katara flushed more, and it was impressive how red she got given how brown her skin was.  “You’ve got some evil Fire Nation boyfriend back home?” she opted to ask instead of answering.  The scorn in her voice was completely uncalled for. 

“No; he’s Earth Kingdom, not that it’s your business, and he lives here, in Ba Sing Se!”  Zuko honestly wasn’t sure how they’d gotten to the point of arguing about his love life.  It was probably Sokka’s fault, as most things in his life seemed to be lately.  Zuko was sure if he tried, he could find a way to even blame Sokka for Azula being in the city. And Katara was looking like she’d probably agree with him, which couldn’t be a good thing.

“He must be really proud of himself, dating the prince of the Fire Nation,” she sneered. 

That actually hurt a bit.  Hiding who he was was hard.  Not firebending at all was hard.  Lying to Jet was honestly kind of hard.  And Uncle was right about – a lot of things.  Jet had definitely not reacted well to guessing at Iroh’s firebending with only the barest hint of evidence to go on.  Of course, that’d been before now.  Before they were together, and Jet knew him.  But still.  Zuko had turned a blind eye to the issues inherent in his relationship with Jet for now, but it was still new, and he figured he could deal with them later.  If Jet ever did find out, which would hopefully be _never_. There would either be acceptance or betrayal, and Jet didn’t seem the accepting type. 

“Say whatever and think whatever you want about me.  I probably deserve it.  But we’re still stuck together down here, so we can either sit here feeling sorry for ourselves, keep fighting until the Dai Li come back, or work together to figure out a way out of here.” 

“You don’t think I’ve looked for a way out?”

“Then we can look again,” he said. 

“I don’t trust you,” she said mulishly.

“And I don’t trust you,” he shot back.  “But I trust your brother, which is good enough for me right now."

“Yeah, well, I definitely don’t trust your sister.”

“Join the club,” Zuko muttered.

“You're serious, aren’t you?” Katara asked, surprise evident.  “You actually like my brother?  Enough to say you trust him?”

Zuko shrugged, feeling awkward.  “He’s kind of an idiot, but he means well.  I guess I…respect him?”

The waterbender looked like she agreed, but wanted to disagree on the basis of who said it and that it was a backhanded compliment at best.  Zuko sighed and produced a ball of flame in his hand.  The crystals provided a decent amount of glow, but more light could never hurt.  Katara stepped back at the flame in his hand, but he ignored here.

“Do whatever you want,” he said.  “I’m not staying here for my sister to get back.”

The firebender started walking in a random direction, unsurprised when a few seconds later Katara ran to catch up with him.  She didn’t say anything as she fell into step beside him, and the silence was oddly comfortable despite the obviously strain.  At least neither of them were shouting any more.  But something was piquing at Zuko’s curiosity, so finally, he asked.

“If you’re still in Ba Sing Se – where is your brother?  I was sure you’d all have left by now.”

She stared at him dubiously, before huffing, and answering.  “We got information about where our dad was.  Sokka went to go see him, but I had to stay behind in the city to finish – a thing,” she finished lamely.  And then added, probably in an effort to guilt trip Zuko, “We haven’t seen him in two years.  He had to leave us to go fight the war.  Not that you would know anything about that.”

Guilt wasn’t the emotion that brought up.  It was a low-burning rage that made him want to lash out and hurt her because how dare she.  She didn’t know anything about him, he realised.  Sokka, at least, had some idea.  That was probably why he said what he said next.

“I haven’t seen my father in _three_ years,” he began slowly and bitterly.  She looked like she was going to interrupt with another snide comment, especially given that his father was the Fire Lord, so Zuko made sure to continue and get his point across before she could.  “My last memory of him – not him banishing me, I was barely conscious for that – was him taking a fistful of fire to my head and burning half my face off.  Because I spoke out of turn at a war meeting because I didn’t think a general should _sacrifice_ a bunch of innocent soldiers.  So, no.  I _wouldn’t_ know anything about that.”

He glanced back at her, at the disturbed look and the guilt that she’d wanted him to feel all over her face instead and felt a strange sense of vindication. 

“I’m sorry,” Katara finally said after a few more moments of silence.  Zuko stopped walking in surprise.  Out of all the responses he’d expected, that had been at the very bottom of the list.  In fact, it hadn’t even been on the list.  He knew she would feel bad – obviously, that’s why he’d said it – but apologizing was kind of weird.  “That’s – I didn’t know.  It’s just, all this?  The war?  It just feels so personal, all the time.  It always has.  It’s easy to hate the Fire Nation as a whole.  Sokka and I – we lost our mother.”

Zuko knew that from talking to Sokka, even if he didn’t have the details.  Telling her that probably wouldn’t help the conversation along any, especially when it seemed like they might finally be getting somewhere semi-peaceful, so instead he replied with, “We have that in common.”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

“You guys know each other?” Aang asked Toph, wide-eyed and shocked.

“I met him in the woods once and knocked him down,” she replied.  “Then he gave me tea and some very good advice.  Then I met him again when I got to the city because Sokka’s been working at his teashop and I went to music night. 

Aang turned to Sokka, grey eyes even wider.  “You’ve been working at his teashop?!” Aang exclaimed.  Sokka shrugged a little helplessly, even as Toph stood laughing.  “I mean, I thought something was strange when you said the Blue Spirit rescued Appa.  ‘No way,’ I thought—”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,” Sokka cut in because wasn’t this just a day for revelations.  “You know Zuko’s the Blue Spirit?!”

“Well, yeah.”

“Since when?!”

Aang gave him a sheepish grin.  “Since always?  His mask got knocked off when he saved me from Zhao, and then I saved him, and I thought we could maybe be friends, but he attacked me with fire.”

“Predictable,” Sokka sighed.

“And then he went back to chasing us.”

“I can’t believe you never told us!”

“I can’t believe _you_ never told us Zuko was in Ba Sing Se!”

“I knew, too,” Toph interjected.  “But honestly, he seemed pretty up and up, aside from his completely rational irritation with you.”

“Hey,” Aang protested.  From the doorway, Iroh cleared his throat to catch their attention. 

“May I come in?”  Toph and Sokka both nodded, and the old man stepped inside.  “Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se,” he began without preamble.

“She must have Katara,” Aang determined instantly.

Sokka felt his stomach tighten, and it only grew worse when the next words out of Iroh’s mouth were, “She has captured my nephew as well.”

“So you’re telling me Azula has both _my sister_ and _Zuko_?”

“Then we’ll work together to fight Azula and save Katara and Zuko,” Aang said. 

“How did she even capture Zuko – how did she even know you guys were in the city? I thought the whole point was that no one knew!”  Sokka was still stuck on the fact that Princess Crazy was currently holding hostage two of his favourite people in the world.

Not that Zuko was one of Sokka’s favourite people.  He was way too angry.  And a jerk.  He was an angry jerk. 

“That, I do not know.  As to how she captured him, my nephew’s reckless behavior got the better of him again, I am afraid.”

Not only was Zuko an angry jerk, he was a _stupid_ angry jerk.  Although, there was maybe some hope if Azula were keeping Katara and Zuko together somewhere.  They were both formidable benders, and if they could work together they might not even need a rescue.  Or they could always kill each other.  That was also an option. 

And a likely one.

Sokka sighed. 

“So what do we do?” he asked.  Iroh smiled.

“I brought someone along who might be able to help us.”  He walked back outside, leading the three of them to a bound and gagged Dai Li agent on their front porch.  Toph wasted no time in earthbending a more secure hold for him, and Iroh yanked the gag out.

“Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup!” the Dai Li agent gushed before they could even question him.  “They’re going to overthrow the Earth King.”

“My sister and Zuko!” Sokka demanded angrily, pointing his machete at the man.  “Where are they keeping them?”

“In the Crystal Catacombs of old Ba Sing Se, beneath the palace.” 

The four of them wasted no time in running for the palace, leaving the unfortunate guy bound as he was.  When they got there, Toph’s eyebrows raised in surprise.  She dropped to her knees and put a hand on the ground.

“Well, what do you know,” she said.  “There really is an ancient city down there!  But it’s deep.” The earthbender stood back up and bent a crater into the ground.  Sokka bit his lip as a thought occurred to him.  If there really was a coup going on…someone had to warn the king and the generals.  He really wanted to be the one to rescue Katara (and Zuko) from Azula’s clutches, but as far as being the best equipped for the job?  He sighed again.

“We should split up,” he said.  “Aang, you go with Iroh to look for Katara and the angry jerk.  No offense.”  He directed that last bit to his former employer, who chuckled.  There was a strangely knowing glint in his eye that reminded him of the look on Toph’s face every time she joked about Zuko being his boyfriend.

Which he was not.

Because he was _Jet’s_ boyfriend.

Unfortunately.

“None taken,” Iroh said.

“And I’ll go with Toph to warn the Earth King about Azula’s coup,” he finished.  Aang nodded, and bent the hole in the ground deeper, soon disappearing with Iroh beneath the earth.  Sokka and Toph turned their attentions to the palace. 

And, of course, they ended up being too late.

And, of course, they ended up captured by Azula along with the Earth King. 

And, of course, Toph turned out to have just invented metalbending – wait, what?

“You can bend metal?!” he whisper-shouted to Toph as they ran.

“Greatest earthbender in the world or what?”

“Have I told you lately I love you?  Because I do.  I love you.”

“More or less than you love Zuko?”

“That was so not called for.”

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Li was late.  Jet might’ve thought the other boy was blowing him off, but that wasn’t Li’s style.  If his boyfriend wanted to cancel on him he’d do just that – tell it to his face. 

Maybe Mushi and Li were just caught up at the Earth King’s palace.

Jet sighed.  The shop had closed a few minutes ago, but he had still sat outside waiting.  Even though they were supposed to be back hours ago.  Then again, it seemed like something weird was going on. Maybe it was something in the air, but Jet felt unsettled.  He sighed again and stood up.

There came a time, when one had spent over three hours waiting for ones boyfriend to show up, when one deemed it had been long enough and figured said boyfriend would understand if you left.  That time, for Jet, was now.   It was kind of a shame.  He’d been looking forward to going exploring with Li. 

Ah, well.  Jet would just go by himself, he decided, and Li could meet up with him another time.  Maybe he’d find something cool that he could show the other boy next time.


	20. Crossroads

It was hopeless.  There was no way out of here. 

“I told you I looked already,” Katara pointed out.  She’d sat down some minutes back, watching the prince tire himself out as he searched up and down their small tiny cavern for some crack or something he could use to get them out of there.  He’d even suggested trying to blow up one of the walls at one point, which the waterbender had vehemently vetoed given the risk of killing themselves in the process. 

“I know,” Zuko said, frustration welling up in his voice.  “But I still had to try.  I had—,” he cut himself off, realizing how silly what he was about to say sounded in light of their current situation.

“You had what?”

“I had a date,” he finished lamely.  Zuko dropped back against the cavern wall with a groan. 

“I’m sorry I yelled at you before,” the girl said.  She wasn’t actually that bad when she wasn’t yelling, the former prince had come to realise in their few minutes of truce.  She was definitely a lot more easy-going than Sokka.  Not that that was hard.  Sokka was honestly a contender for the hard-earned achievement ‘more paranoid than Zuko’, which was hard to pull off because Zuko veered to the side of paranoia more often than not.  Katara was also surprisingly easier to talk to. 

“It doesn’t matter,” the firebender said stiffly, stifling the burning flame in his palm. 

“It does,” she corrected.  “It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face.”

Somehow that hurt worse after he’d inadvertently spilled what he had in that moment of pettiness, and he frowned and glanced away from her.  Katara, though, seemed to realise what she’d said and how he was taking it and almost instantly tried to course correct before he could even reply.

“No, I’m sorry; that’s not what I meant.”

“It’s fine,” he said, ready to tell her about everything he’d learned recently in relationship to himself and his scar.  She spoke again before he could, though.

“It’s not,” she said.  “It’s not fine.  I didn’t mean to be hurtful.  I didn’t know about what happened to you – what your dad did, that’s not okay.  And I hope you don’t mind me asking, but it makes me wonder…why do you want to go back so badly?”

That was…a really good question.  Zuko bit his lip.  When he started speaking, his voice wavered.

“I know that he’s just…this really bad guy to you,” he began quietly, “Or as Sokka put it, ‘he’s evil and destroying the world’.  But he’s my dad.”  Zuko shrugged.  “And Azula’s my sister, and she’s _crazy_ – seriously, she’s always been that way – but she’s still my little sister.  And the Fire Nation is my home.  I care about it, and I care about the people.  Most of the people back home aren’t bad. Most people – anywhere – aren’t bad. I don’t know.  How would you feel if you couldn’t go back to your home?  Ever?”

Katara rested her elbows on her knees.  She opened her mouth to respond, but someone burst into the cave from the wall, catching their attention.  Zuko and Katara both turned to see Aang step out of the dust, patting himself off, followed closely by Iroh.

“Aang!” Katara exclaimed, jumping to her feet and rushing to hug the boy. “I knew you’d come!” She squeezed him even tigheter.

“Are you guys okay?” the Avatar asked, mostly directed at Katara.  That was fine because Zuko was honestly slightly confused as to how to react as he, too, hugged his rather relieved uncle.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Katara reassured the boy.  “They just tossed us down here and left.”

“Okay, good.  We have to get back to the city – Azula’s trying to overthrow the Earth King!” he exclaimed.  He tossed a glance Zuko’s way and eyed him for a second before bouncing over.  It was honestly kind of gross how happy and upbeat he was all the time.  The ever-moody firebender reassured himself that even at his happiest – about five hours ago, maybe, before Azula came along to mess up his life entirely – he had never been that disgustingly cheery.  “So I know you didn’t want to be friends before,” Aang started, and it took the prince a second to remember what ‘before’ the kid was talking about, “But you’re friends with Sokka now, so maybe we can be, too?”

Katara and Uncle were both watching Zuko way too expectantly. It was too much pressure.  And also, his niceness quota had been filled for the whole year.  Maybe the next two, really.  He turned away with a huff and crossed his arms, deigning not to reply.  That didn’t stop Aang from brightening even further and taking the fact that no fire came flying in his direction this time as a win. Iroh rested a comforting hand on Zuko’s shoulder before turning to their former enemies. 

“Go help your other friends.  We’ll catch up with you.”

Aang nodded and bowed before bounding away back down his newly created tunnel, Katara at his heels.  But before the Avatar could exit, he stopped and turned back to Zuko.  “And thanks for freeing Appa!” and then he was gone, leaving Zuko grumbling under his breath and Iroh chuckling.  His uncle grew somber, and turned towards him.

“What will you do now, Zuko?” he asked, face as serious as the prince had ever seen him. 

“I don’t know,” Zuko answered honestly.  It was weird because he hadn’t even tried to attack the Avatar a little.  He hadn’t had the desire to.  It was kind of disconcerting, given that catching Aang had been the driving force in his life for the past three years. 

Agni, he was even thinking of the boy by name now.  Zuko had clearly spent way too much time with Sokka lately.  That was clearly what was happening here.

“You are not the man you used to be,” his uncle continued, ever one to dispense advice.  This time, it was warranted.  “You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been.  And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny.  It’s time for you to choose.  It’s time for you to choose good.”

Zuko nodded.  Iroh had never made it this plain before exactly where he really stood in regards to the war, but honestly it wasn’t a surprise.  He’d been hinting for years. 

Before the teen could reply – or even have time to fully commit in his mind one way or the other – the earth around them began to shake.  Crystals sprang from the ground to trap Iroh, and Zuko swung around, arms up and ready to attack, just in time to see Azula and two of her Dai Li lackeys slide down the tunnel they had thrown him through.

“I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle,” she began without preamble, “but Zuko.  _Prince_ Zuko.” The emphasis on prince was not lost on him.  “You’re a lot of things, but you’re not a traitor, are you?”

Zuko’s palms were sweating, but if that was the game she was trying to play…

“Release him immediately!” he demanded.  Azula ignored him and kept talking.

“It’s not too late for you, Zuko.  You can still redeem yourself.”

“What are you talking about?”

Iroh interjected, “The kind of redemption she offers is not for you!”  His sister turned on their uncle and chided him to let Zuko decide.  And then she turned back to her brother and was saying a lot.  A lot of things.  Imploring him to help.  Telling him she needed him.  Offering him a way to redeem his honour.  Reclaim their father's love.  It was too much to take in, and he blanked for a second. 

“You will have everything you want,” she finished, and wasn’t that just an appealing prospect?  For once, it didn’t even seem like Azula was lying.  It would probably be even more appealing if Zuko could actually figure out what it was he wanted, instead of just the maelstrom of confusion he felt inside. 

“Zuko, I am begging you,” Iroh said.  “Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want.”

He looked back at his uncle.  It wasn’t that simple.  He _did_ want everything Azula said.  Everything she offered.

“You’re free to choose,” his sister ended, gesturing to her lackeys to go.  She took off down the other tunnel after Aang and Katara, leaving him alone with his uncle.  Alone and free.  And wasn’t that the real kicker here?  Azula either had that much confidence that he would do exactly what she wanted, or she was that confident that he was a total nonthreat to her.  Or, knowing her, probably both.  And didn’t that frustrate him just as much as the decision that sat in front of him. 

“Zuko,” the old man implored once more.  “It _is_ your decision, but for your sake, please choose what is right.”  He nodded, biting his lip. He _would_ choose what was right.  What was right for _him_ , not for Iroh or for Azula. 

Zuko wondered, then, what would happen if he did work with Azula.  If they together conquered Ba Sing Se.  That would be it – the end of the war.  Of course, the Avatar would still be out there, but the Fire Nation would have conquered the world.  He could go home.  Things with Jet would be over, but would that really matter?  They were still pretty new and unsure, anyway.  It’s not like Jet would ever see him again to find out.  Though, if the Fire Nation did conquer the Earth Kingdom, he had the niggling feeling that Jet would be dead within the year.  The Freedom Fighter wasn’t one content to leave well enough alone.  Or he could surprise them all and adjust perfectly fine.  Accept the new status quo.  Maybe.

Sokka was a more pressing concern.  Close, personal friend and travelling companion of the Avatar:  there was no way he made it out of this intact.  Then again, if Zuko were home – if he were the actual, legitimate Crown Prince again – he could maybe have some sway over that. 

He wanted to scream.  This was an impossible decision. 

Zuko’s fist tightened at his side.  He stripped off the fancy outer layer of his clothing because no matter which way this went down there would be a fight, and he needed his clothes to let him move.  The conflicted prince glanced back at Iroh, who didn’t offer any words of comfort or advice the one time it would probably be appreciated, before taking off after his sister down the tunnel.

At this point, Zuko was just going to do what he always did:  wing it.  He’d figure out what he was going to do when he did it.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Jet hadn’t expected to run into anyone down here, least of all Katara and Aang.  He’d been exploring for a whole now, going down caverns and bends and drops of all kinds until he’d found the real winner.  This huge, central cavern with a giant waterfall and streams running through the remains of an underground city.  It was kind of fancy, but just a bit mysterious and cool.  He held a moment of silence for his missing boyfriend who would undoubtedly love it.  Jet was mostly sure. 

Oh, well.  Next time he’d be sure to show Li.

The sound of running caught Jet’s attention, echoing loudly in the otherwise peaceful catacombs.  He glanced around the crystal formation in front of him, and that’s when he saw them.

“We’ve gotta meet up with Sokka and the others,” Katara was saying to Aang. 

“Katara!  Aang!” he called, climbing over the ledge.

“Jet! The girl exclaimed, starting at him weirdly.  He shrugged it off because, hey, she wasn’t attacking him on sight.  And that was legitimately an improvement in their relationship over the last time he’d seen her.  “What are you doing down here?”

“Exploring. What’s wrong?” he asked because the stress on their faces was obvious.  They exchanged a glance.  Aang shrugged.

“We could use all the help we can get.”

Katara seemed to agree, which meant things had to be bad, and stepped forward.  “The Fire Nation have invaded Ba Sing Se,” she said hurriedly, and Jet felt his stomach drop.  “Their princess, Azula, is in the city and arranging a coup with the Dai Li.  Sokka and Toph went to the palace to stop them.”  The palace, Jet realised.  That’s where Li and Mushi had gone today.  Had they gotten caught up in this?  Had something happened with the Fire Nation?  Is that why they had never come back to the shop today? And he had been down here fooling around this whole time!  “They’re trying to overthrow the Earth King,” the waterbender finished.

“Trying?  I think you’ll find we have.”  The girl’s cruel voice gave them warning enough to dodge the stream of blue fire that came blasting at them.  And why was it blue?  Was red not enough for some people?

Aang spun and erected a rock wall just in time to halt the crackling lightning that had exploded from her still smoldering fingers.

“Who’s that?” he asked Katara.

“Azula,” she replied grimly.  “The princess.”  Then Katara dove out from behind the wall.  She bent a huge wave out of the stream and sent it flying at the other girl several times.  Each attempt was met with a dodge or counter, defended against with ease, until a huge blast of fire erupted out and turned the water into a huge billowing cloud of blinding steam.  Aang and Jet ducked out from behind the column and Jet readied his swords. 

Azula suddenly emerged from the steam, jumping down from above and basting fire at them.

“Three on one?” she taunted when she landed, clearly noticing Jet for the first time.  Not enough to address him directly.  It chafed at him that he was apparently beneath her notice.  “That hardly seems fair.  Well, I suppose it’s good I brought reinforcements, isn’t it?” She snapped her fingers, and Dai Li materialized from all angles, filling the room and trapping them in.

“I was going to wait for Zuzu to arrive to start the fun, but if you’re bringing your friends, I’ll bring mine,” she jeered, and then attacked.  The Dai Li followed suit, and soon Jet was distracted defending himself on all sides.  It didn’t take long for him to end up boxed in – not when he was one guy (one nonbender at that) against a horde of earthbenders in the middle of a stone cavern.  Yeah, that one was pretty obvious.  It was impressive that he was managing to hold his own so well, but Jet was good and he knew it. 

It did make the Freedom Fighter feel even better that down by the water, Katara didn’t seem to be faring too much better.  Out of the corner of his eye, he also saw Aang taking on the princess, about to get hit by a blast of flame that he hadn’t quite been fast enough to avoid, distracted as he was by one of her Dai Li.  A new wave of fire – not blue – raced in between them from out of nowhere. 

It was intense. Unexpected.  Fire clashed across the chasm suddenly, blue versus red, and the blue fire found itself dissipating under the unexpected onslaught.  Everyone in the cavern stopped, turning to look.  Aang and Katara as well as the princess and her Dai Li minions, and time seemed to suspend itself as they all assessed the newcomer.  What Jet saw made him freeze up. 

It wasn’t a surprise, was the crazy thing.  Of course it wasn’t a surprise.  He’d known right off the bat, from the day they had first stepped foot in Ba Sing Se together.  It was why he’d been so obsessed, right at the beginning.  But denial was a powerful tool and none of those facts made this…this… _betrayal_ feel any less like he was burning up inside.  Burning because that was the only appropriate metaphor here.  Like he was watching his parents die all over again, only instead of that general standing there lighting the house on fire, it was _Li_.

“Made up your mind then, have you?” the princess asked.

Li didn’t reply, even though his entire focus was on the girl in front of him.  His eyes were narrowed, but surprisingly not in anger.  Jet glanced over to Aang and Katara to see how they were reacting to this.  Pleasantly surprised, is how he could describe their faces.  Relieved at Li’s appearance.  It was disgusting.  They were gleefully fraternizing with the enemy.

Although Jet had done more than fraternize.  He was trying not to think about that right now, though.

“You’re a fool,” the Fire princess continued, hissing it out.  “But you never did know how to make the smart choice, did you?”

Li (and was that even his real name?  Jet wondered suddenly) kept his attention aimed on the girl, but his gaze darted around to assess the situation.  Jet felt the moment they locked eyes, saw his boyfriend’s (ex-boyfriend, he mentally corrected) widen marginally before the _firebender_ focused back on the princess in front of him.  When he spoke it was with what was undoubtedly the most confident, calm tone the Freedom Fighter had ever heard from him.

“You’re wrong.  For _once_ in my life I’m making the right choice.”

“Well, I suppose this means you’re a full blown traitor now, Zuzu.”  Zuzu.  Was that his name?  His real name?  It was a weird name, but there was a weird sort of familiarity between Li and the princess even as they faced off.  She was cocky, but there was a hard-edge to her words.  An underlying bitterness and touch of authentic disappointment.  “Just like Uncle.  It’s a shame, really.”  An evil grin split her painted, fire red lips them.  “I’ll so enjoy killing you.”

It was somewhere between that second and the next, when the princess began attacking Li, and Katara – actually _worrying_ about that _firebender!_ – called out, “Zuko!” that suddenly the picture before Jet was clear.  All the missing pieces were assembled – pieces that Jet hadn’t even known were missing until now.  He felt that familiar, deep resentment settle into his chest.

Jet knew who Zuko was.  How could he not?  Aang and Katara had done nothing but rage against the relentless Fire Nation prince chasing them across the world when they’d met and gotten along.  That wasn’t the kind of thing you forgot.  It definitely wasn’t the kind of thing a Freedom Fighter forgot.  Know thine enemy, and all. 

Jet felt dirty.

Li wasn’t just a refugee.  He wasn’t just a random person from the colonies.  Not just a Fire Nation citizen.  Not just a _firebender_.  He was the son of the Fire Lord himself.  The crown prince of the nation that had orphaned Jet.  That explained the familiarity between him and the princess. The girl was his sister. 

Jet couldn’t believe that he’d bought into the lies for a second.  The sob story about his mother, the constant dismissal when Jet tried to bring the rest of his family up.  The whole Blue Spirit nonsense that was probably a lie.  All the things that had made Li – no, not Li, _Zuko_ – more relatable.  Sympathetic.  Intriguging.  Honestly, saving Jet from getting arrested had probably not been out of the kindness of his heart as much as an attempt to assuage the guilt that might have occurred for letting someone innocent – and right! – get punished for telling the truth.  Then again, that implied that the Fire Nation could feel guilt which obviously, they couldn’t.

 _‘I can’t believe I slept with that filth,’_ Jet thought.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Why was Jet here?  Zuko hadn’t been expecting to see the other boy and it had almost taken him off his guard.  It was still almost taking him off his guard as he couldn’t stop thinking about Jet, about the obvious shock and anger on his face, and Azula was currently trying to fulfill her lifelong wish of becoming an only child.  So, you know, he had more important things to be worrying about than Jet.

He and the Avatar were doing a fairly decent job of tag teaming Azula.  They would have been doing better if their fighting weren’t complicated by the hordes of Dai Li she seemed to have at her command who kept attacking them, too. Katara was struggling to hold off the ones around her and she was standing in the middle of a fast flowing stream, keeping them at bay with a rather impressive display of waterbending.  But for every Dai Li any of them took out – even Jet – it seemed like they weren’t thinning even a little bit.  They were definitely being cornered.

“There’s too many,” Zuko heard Aang say to himself, dismayed at the realization.

“Then do something about it!” he shouted at the younger boy.  He was the Avatar.  He could wreak destruction if he so chose – Zuko had seen it firsthand himself.  And while the prince was glad the airbender listened to him, he also hadn’t expected Aang to nod and then encapsulate himself into tent he bent out of the ground. 

A glow starting emitting seconds later, stopping Zuko and the Dai Li around him short.  They stared in wonder as the light grew brighter and then exploded outward, destroying the tent.  Zuko ducked the flying rocks that came his way. 

Aang now sat in the Avatar State, slowly levitating upwards inside a pillar of light.  It was an impressive display that would’ve had Zuko a touch more scared if he hadn’t seen worse from him at the North Pole.  This was tame – peaceful – compared to that.  All show, no action.

The lightning struck in an instant, crackling into the boy’s body.  Aang seized up and the light drained from his eyes and tattoos.  The Avatar State dissipated, and unconscious, he fell.

“Aang!” Katara shrieked, rushing over on a wave to catch him before he hit the ground. 

Zuko turned around to see Azula standing there with her fingers still stretched outward and smoking.  A self-satisfied smirk rested on her vicious lips, and cold gold eyes locked with his.

“One down,” she sneered, and then was moving back into that familiar bending form.  Zuko didn’t stop to think when he realised what she was doing.  He didn’t have the time.  Lightning was arching towards him, and he reacted.  One hand reached out and he pulled it into himself in one breath, ignoring the way his whole body electrified as he forced it down through his torso and up and out through his other arm on the next breath, sending the cold white fire rushing right back at her.  He had time to see her eyes widen in shock before it connected and she was sent flying back with her own attack. 

Azula was down, but that didn’t seem to deter the Dai Li, only a few of which rushed over to take care of her while the rest pinned them down. Jet had joined Katara and Aang, splitting his glares between the Dai Li circling and Zuko himself.  Katara stood cradling Aang’s body, water snapping up around her to defend.  Zuko inched closer to them because this was looking like it might not actually end so well for them. But he’d made his choice, and he was really good at sticking with them.

That’s when Iroh appeared as if sent by the spirits, blasting fire and jumping down from a cliff, landing between the teens and the encroaching earthbenders. 

“You’ve got to get out of here!  I’ll hold them off as long as I can!” 

That snapped Katara into action, and she bent the water around her and Aang and Jet.  Zuko stood there, faltering for a second.

“Go!” Iroh stressed, catching eyes with his nephew.  He’d honestly never looked prouder as he said it.

“Zuko, come on!” Katara called, and he tore his eyes away from his uncle and ran to the pool. The water wrapped around him, too, and then they were going up as Iroh held off the Dai Li and then they were gone, out of the cavern and free.  They landed at the top with an undignified splat, and Katara patted Aang’s body down until she produced a whistle that she abruptly blew. 

“Appa,” she explained softly at Zuko’s questioning look. 

Jet stood up and attempted to wring his clothes out.  Zuko bit his lip and then stood up, too.  He walked over to Jet and reached out a hand to touch his arm.

“Jet,” he began quietly, but his hand was slapped away without preamble and the glare he received had his stomach twisting into coils.

“Don’t touch me,” Jet snapped.  “Don’t talk to me.”

That wasn’t a surprising response, but it still hurt.  Zuko didn’t have anything else to say, so he sat back down next to Katara and waited for Appa to arrive.


	21. Rules of the Universe

“How are you?” Sokka asked, plopping down onto the ground next to where Zuko sat curled up with his arms on his knees and being rather pathetic-looking.  They’d reached Chameleon Bay a couple hours ago and met up with the Water Tribe warriors once more.  It’d been a hectic evening, the escape from Ba Sing Se, and he’d been surprised when Appa had shown up with Zuko and Jet as extra passengers, though that had been quickly overshadowed by Aang’s inert body and Katara’s desperation.  The ride away from the city had been silent and tense, with Katara doing everything she could think of to heal Aang – and then remembering her Spirit Oasis water, thank the spirits – and Jet glaring at Zuko the whole trip like he wanted to murder him.  Which he possibly did.  Katara’s quick rundown of events, including the recap of Zuko joining their side, showed that the cat was out of the bag.  Aang waking up had been a relief, cutting through the tension that permeated the open air above the bison, but the biggest relief had been landing.  Sokka took it upon himself to work things out with his dad, explaining the situation, and everyone had dispersed around the camp.  Zuko had all but disappeared.

It had taken Sokka a whole hour and a half of searching to find Zuko when he was finished with his dad.  He’d stopped in briefly to try and see about Aang, but Katara was still busy and shooed him away so he moved on to his next priority.  Unfortunately, as small as the camp was, the prince was insanely good at making himself scarce when he had to.  He’d found the most remote, hidden, and darkest corner he could find and stuck himself there, far away from everyone.

“How’s the Avatar?” Zuko asked instead of replying.  “Aang,” he self-corrected after a second. 

“He’s alive,” Sokka said.  “Which is definitely the best we can hope for right now, so that’s good.  But I asked _you_ first, and then I answered first, so now you _have_ to answer.  Those are the rules.”

“Whose rules?”

“’Whose rules’, he says.  The rules, Zuko.  The rules of the universe!”

“You’re making those up.”

“You’re trying to avoid the question which, as I just pointed out, as against the rules.”

Zuko, who had been kind enough to look at Sokka this whole time, turned his eyes away and rested his chin on arms.  “It’s not important.”

Sokka wasn’t here for that kind of answer.  He sighed and leaned against the boulder they sat behind.  “Zuko,” he said pointedly.  “Seriously.  Are you okay?”

The firebender let out an irritated huff and curled up a bit more, glaring at the ground.  But he answered, so Sokka took the win.  “No,” he admitted.  “I’m not.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” he said quietly.  And not just because Zuko looked miserable and down-trodden.  From Katara’s recap, he’d had a hell of a day.  “Your uncle,” he tried, focusing on what he felt was probably itching at the other boy the most. “He’s tough.  I’m sure he’ll be fine.  And if Jet’s getting to you, don’t let him.  He’s kind of an ass; you know that.”  Sokka kindly refrained from slipping any kind of ‘I told you so’ into the conversation.  Zuko clearly felt bad enough as it was without rubbing his face in it. 

“It’s not that,” Zuko said quietly.  “I mean, yeah, it’s kind of those a bit.  But Uncle probably will be fine; he’s still royalty.  And Jet…”  Here he trailed off and sighed.  “It’s not Jet,” he finally said.  “It’s that…I just…I think I might’ve just killed my sister,” he finished, voice growing more pained with each word.

Oh.

Yeah, that would do it.  Sokka hadn’t thought about that really.  Or at all.  Sure, he’d gotten that quick rundown, but that blip about Zuko taking out Azula had just led to a rather throwaway “good” of satisfaction in his mind that the princess had gotten her comeuppance.  So even if she was dead, he wasn’t exactly mourning.  But Sokka could definitely see how that would possibly be a bummer for Zuko.  Even if the girl had tried to kill her brother before.  On multiple occasions.  She was still his little sister. 

Sokka put on the best upbeat, comforting voice he could muster.  “I’m sure she’s not dead – she’s tough like your uncle.  Like your whole family, really.  Annoyingly tough.  Like I wouldn’t even think you guys were real people if I didn’t know you.  I think she’s probably impossible to kill, actually.  And, hey – Aang’s still breathing.”

“Yeah, barely, and only because your sister has magic spirit water and healing abilities.”

That was a fair point.  Sokka tried a different tactic.  “That’s just because your sister is a crazy good bender.”  And now Zuko was full out glaring at him and the poor watertribesman realised what he’d just implied.  “Not to say you’re not!  You are.  You’re a great bender, Zuko.  Even though I’ve, uh, never actually seen you bend lightning like she does.  But – oh!  She had time to aim and you didn’t, right?  So she’s probably fine.  Probably walked it right off.”  Unfortunately.

Zuko still didn’t look comforted.  Sokka decided it was probably safest to change the topic of conversation entirely.  When words offered no peace, distraction was the name of the game.

“You don’t have to sit over here by yourself,” he said.

“I’m not by myself,” Zuko shot back.  Sokka paused, surprised.

“Was that a joke?  Like a for real joke, that was actually kind of funny and not morbid in any way?  I’m impressed.  Didn’t think you had it in you.”

Now Zuko was glaring again, but it was an embarrassed glare as opposed to ‘you just insulted my very existence’, so more or less his usual face.

“Seriously; come on and let me introduce you to everyone.”

“Is that really the best idea?”  And that’s when Sokka figured out the other thing that was bothering Zuko.  He was uncomfortable and didn’t know what to expect from anyone.  Understandably.  Jet’s whole Jet-ness probably wasn’t helping matters at all.

Sokka was glad he’d inadvertently prepped his dad for the firebender now.  “It’s a great idea.  My dad really wants to meet you.  I, ah…might have told him about you already.  He’s got this weird idea that I have a crush on you which is just, hah, crazy, right?  Totally ridiculous.”

“Yeah.  Crazy.”  Did Zuko know how to sound enthused about anything?  Sokka would give it to him today because he’d clearly just gone through some serious emotional upheaval, but in general.  That was point number one in his newly formed list of totally legitimate reasons why Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe did not, in any way, have feelings beyond the soft gooey friendship ones for the newly reformed former Prince Zuko.  He had to remember to write that down.  He was going to keep the list tucked away and present it to his father in the future as definite proof that the man was wrong.  And then they could read it to Toph for good measure.

For now, though, it seemed as if Sokka’s supposed crush on Zuko had gone a long way to impress the older boy’s inner goodness on Hakoda.  So Sokka would be magnanimous and let his dad’s very wrong belief slide. 

“I’m fine where I am,” Zuko protested. He was determined to not move, it seemed.  Sokka was done playing around here, though.

“Yeah; not buying it.  Come on.”  He refused to let Zuko sit here and mope.  Or be scared away from bonding with people by his own insecurities – or Jet’s general bad attitude.  Sokka was quite pleased when Zuko didn’t protest being dragged around by the arm, up and over to the center of the camp where everyone but Katara (and obviously Aang) sat outside by the fire.  Including Jet, who glared at them the moment they appeared.  Sokka ignored him – though by the way Zuko darted his eyes away, the former prince sure hadn’t – and marched them right past the Freedom Fighter and up to where his dad sat talking to Bato.

“Dad,” he announced loudly, much to Zuko’s consternation, “this is Zuko.  Zuko, my dad.”

Sokka paid no mind to Hakoda’s not nearly quiet enough whisper to Bato, “It’s like meeting my future son-in-law,” and the ensuing laughter that comment garnered.  It probably hadn’t been the smartest move talking to his dad about how nice Zuko smelled, but, oh well.  The damage was done.  And for the record, Zuko did continue to smell very nice.

Not that Sokka was paying attention to that at all.

Zuko didn’t have Sokka’s discretion or charitable ability to look the other way as he turned bright red and flustered.  “What?  No!  I’m not - we’re not – Sokka – no!  I have a—,” boyfriend, Sokka was sure he almost said, but caught himself at the last second and went right back to frowning and looking depressed.

Hakoda pulled himself to his feet and laughed.

“Relax, son,” he said.  “I’m just teasing Sokka.”

Which Sokka was totally cool with and unbothered by because he did not like Zuko like that and therefore had no reason to get defensive.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, both good and bad.  It’s good to finally meet you.  It can’t have been easy turning against your family like that, but all of us here, we appreciate the way you helped the Avatar today.  And I personally appreciate the way you’ve helped my children.  So thank you.”  Zuko flushed even more and nodded.

“Uh, it’s, uh…it’s nice to meet you, too,” he said lamely, blowing off the thanks.  Sokka snorted.

“Well, okay, so that’s my dad, this is Bato,” Bato waved, “you obviously already know the Earth King and Toph,” and Sokka continued, dragging Zuko around from person to person to make sure he knew everyone until Zuko had more names in his mind than he would possibly ever remember.  They finally stopped when Sokka’s stomach growled loud enough to remind both boys they were hungry, and Sokka enthusiastically grabbed them something and they sat down to eat.  Then it came time to divvy up sleeping quarters and bedrolls and Sokka volunteered to share a tent with Zuko before anyone could even say anything which way. 

Zuko was by now staring at the brown-skinned boy like Sokka had a crazy Zuko was afraid of catching and Jet hadn’t stopped glaring at the two of them even once.  Sokka ignored any and all faces Toph and Hakoda might have been making because being nice to someone – to his friend, no less – in no way meant anything.  About anything.

There was just something really nice about Zuko being on their side now.  For real.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Zuko demanded when they got settled in their tent that evening.  It was Sokka’s turn to pin him with a weird look, one eyebrow arched.

“Why wouldn’t I be nice?”

“Because the last time we talked, I treated you terribly.”  That was true.  None of their last few conversations had gone well. 

“The last time we talked you actually had freed Appa and returned him to me, which on the long list of things you’ve done to me and my friends is actually close to the top in terms of goodness level.  Let’s be honest here.”

Zuko didn’t find comfort in that, even though Sokka had said it with what he considered to be a rather convincing, relaxed grin. 

“Which adds to my point,” he replied.

“You have serious trust issues, you know that?”  Zuko just glared.  Sokka huffed and crossed his arms.  “You also have no concept of friendship.  Yeah, you were completely an ass, and you definitely owe me an apology,” it was to Zuko’s favour that he didn’t offer up even a micro protest, “but your world kind of imploded on itself today, and you’re still my friend even if you don’t think I’m yours, so I think it’s probably not great for you to be alone right now.  I know I wouldn’t want to be.”

“Oh,” Zuko said lamely.  And then moments later, “I’m sorry I said we weren’t friends.  I didn’t mean it.  And that I called you an idiot.  And a peasant.  Even though you’re kind of both those things.  This is a terrible apology.”

“It’s cool,” Sokka said, giving his friend a shrug and a reassuring grin.  “You have no social skills.  I understand.”

“Things _were_ good with Jet, though,” Zuko said, voice imploring.  “The past few days were nice.  We went on a date.”  Sokka did not want to think about Zuko and Jet on a date.  “I got sick: he helped.  We talked.  Peacefully.  He wasn’t weird.  Things were good.  _Are_ , if he ever forgives me.”

And that was a problem right there.  That kind of thinking.  Sokka would listen to Zuko stress about Jet, but he wasn’t willing to listen to that.

“Forgives you for what?” he demanded.  “For being you?  This is down to Jet and his weird, deluded issues with the Fire Nation.  You actually didn’t do anything wrong here for once.  Except maybe sleeping with and subsequently choosing to date him.  I still maintain that was a stupid decision.”

“I thought you were being nice to me.”

“No, I’m being your friend.  And, hey, what can I say:  friends are here to tell it like it is.  Those are the rules.”

“Rules of the universe,” Zuko snorted in disbelief.

Sokka grinned wide.  It seemed the prince was catching on.  “Yup.  The universal rules governing friendship.  You ought to learn them.”

Zuko rolled his eyes and then let out a huge yawn.  “Sure, whatever.  But, uh…thanks.  Sokka.  For, um.  For what it’s worth.”  It was worth quite a lot, Zuko’s thanks.  It was good to know they were on good terms again.  “I’m going to sleep.” 

The firebender tucked himself into the bedroll with a tossed out ‘goodnight’ and was out before he knew it.  Sokka waited until Zuko’s breathing evened out then rolled onto his feet.  He wasn’t quite ready to sleep yet tonight.  But Zuko was probably up past his bedtime given he woke up at the crack of dawn.  The water tribesman was more of a night owl himself.  And besides, he was overdue for another check up on his sister.  Katara still hadn’t emerged from the self-designated healing tent she’d disappeared into hours earlier to work on Aang.  With any pending Zuko drama put on hold for the moment it was time to go make sure his little sister didn’t kill herself trying to keep Aang alive.

Although, Sokka really needed to learn not to jinx himself because karma always came collecting.  And the Zuko drama was clearly not put on hold because who did Sokka run into but Jet, glaring death and spitting venom around his stupid wheat stalk (and where had he even gotten one from around here?).

“You must be so proud of yourself,” the taller boy spat out when he stepped directly into Sokka’s path.

Sokka scowled, but chose not to respond.  He tried to step past Jet, but the taller boy stepped with him, blocking his way.  He moved again, but same result.

“Get out of my way,” he said mulishly.  Jet ignored him, stepping closer to tower over Sokka as best he could.  It probably would have worked better if Sokka ever felt anything other than annoyance to the other boy.  Intimidation wasn’t something he was willing to put up with.

“It must have been a real joke to you, watching us.  Knowing what he was the whole time.”

“Move out of my way, Jet,” the water tribesman repeated lowly.  He refused to engage in this.

“Did you go home laughing at me every night?  Maybe with your little blind friend?”

“No one’s laughing at you, Jet – I told you to leave him alone.”  Jet was delusional, as usual.  Sokka just really wanted him to move out of the way so he could get to Katara. 

“Yeah, I’m sure you were watching out for me,” he scoffed. 

“I couldn’t care less about you,” Sokka snapped back.  “But I was definitely looking out for him.  Not even Zuko deserves to have to deal with you.”

Jet shoved Sokka hard, causing the shorter boy to stumble back before he caught himself.  Once steadied, he straightened up, but didn’t retaliate.  Not yet.

“You disgust me,” Jet said.  “Almost as much as he does.  I thought you might have had a thing for him in the city, but tonight, going everywhere with him, sharing a tent – the thing with your dad.  You’re sick, you know that.”

“You sound jealous,” Sokka retorted.  “Afraid he likes me better?  That’d be unfortunate, given he’s _your_ boyfriend.”  The crush accusations weren’t worth responding to.  Jet was angry and irrational and needed the reminder that if he wasn’t happy with his situation, he had no one but himself to blame.  Jet didn’t take kindly to that reminder, though, and shoved Sokka again. 

“At least when I had a go at him, I didn’t know he was one of them!  You see the filth that he is and still want a turn.  Well, I hope you enjoy my leftovers.”

There was much to be said about being the better man, and taking the high road, and not engaging with Jet’s ridiculousness.  Some things, though, were much better said with fists.  Sokka punched him.  It was the only appropriate response.  The crack of Jet’s nose under his fist was entirely too satisfying, and the water tribesman would savour that feeling for as long as he could.  Jet, predictably, hit back, fist landing on Sokka’s cheek, and the two descended into a brawl in the middle of camp, only stopping when they were forcibly pulled apart by some of the other water tribesman.  The noise of angry shouts and collapsing tents had alerted them to the fight.

When it was clear that neither boy was going to take another swing, they were let go.  Sokka stomped over to stare Jet down nose to nose. 

“You think you’re too good for him, but it’s actually the other way around.  And if you have a problem, you can leave – because guess what, Jet, we need him around here more than we need, or even want, you.  So have fun sleeping on that tonight.”

And then he stormed off to visit Katara and hopefully get his sister to heal his bruised face up before he woke up in the morning and Zuko started asking questions.  Sokka was just honestly glad, and so very grateful, that Zuko hadn’t been awake to see this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Next chapter update will be March 11.


	22. Avoidance Tactics

The ship that the group had commandeered from the Fire Navy was a welcome, if unsettling, slice of home amid the current tumultuous upheaval of Zuko’s life.  Chameleon Bay had become too hot to stay over the past few days, what with the sudden influx of Fire Nation soldiers heading to Ba Sing Se.  It hadn’t been hard to convince everyone when the idea to go incognito had popped up, and it had been only mildly harder to actually steal a ship.  Even Jet hadn’t made more than a cursory complaint, as was his expected reaction any time fire was so much as thought about in a conversation.  It was a crazy, weird sort of sixth sense he had.  Although, thinking of Jet…

Zuko sighed.  Jet hadn’t said a word to him yet.  He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, although given the hateful glares that he received every time they managed to cross paths, he was leaning towards the latter.  Somehow, the prince felt that this was Sokka’s fault.  A little of it might have been on him and the whole “Fire Nation” secret thing, but not even so much as yelling?  And those bruises both boys had had for days – that had only just now faded – told a story Zuko had decided not to even ask about.  A weird, sick guilt crept up from his stomach every time Jet glared at him, though.  Sokka reassured him that he had nothing to feel bad about, but Zuko wasn’t sure how true that was.  He had a lot to feel bad about:  his whole life, for instance. 

Still, he wasn’t complaining for once.  Avoidance was generally a fairly effective tactic from his perspective, and combined with Jet’s attempts, they were doing a pretty good job of avoiding each other.  And given that Jet was not actively stalking Zuko’s life for the first time in months, it freed him up for things like now.  He stood on the deck in a fairly hidden corner near the railing towards the back, waiting for the messenger hawk he’d spotted following them earlier.

That was the other good thing about a Fire Navy ship.  It came with messenger hawks.  This wasn’t the first time he’d snuck up on to the deck in the middle of the night.  The guilt about Azula had been steadily gnawing away at him – just another thing to feel bad about in his quite honestly terrible (hilariously terrible) life that he’d been gifted by the spirits.  So, it really wasn’t his fault that he’d ended up making what he would freely admit to being, should anyone catch him, a stupid decision.  Or, well, it was entirely his fault, but sometimes he made bad choices.  He couldn’t even blame this on Sokka somehow.  Still, he hoped he wasn’t caught because it would be hard to explain to everyone why he was sneaking around in the middle of the night to correspond with anyone in the Fire Nation.

Admittedly, it would look extremely suspicious.

From above, the hawk swooped down low and landed on the railing in front of him.  The prince removed the attached message and unrolled it, noting that Mai had used the same paper he’d sent.  That was smart. 

 _How is she?_ His own, sloppy handwriting stared up at him, followed underneath by Mai’s much more elegant, flowing calligraphy:  _You’re an idiot._   A few things were crossed out – probably more insults, knowing her; she didn’t seem to have changed much from when they were smaller – and then there was the answer to his question.  _She’s alive._

Zuko frowned, his heart twisting up in his chest.  That didn’t sound promising.  The Avatar – Aang, he was going to not have to remind himself one day – was alive, but he still hadn’t woken up and according to the stress emanating from Katara every time the waterbender emerged from the healing room, it was taking all her skills and every last drop of oasis water to keep him that way.  The Fire Nation might have more skilled healers – people who had dedicated years of their life to the art instead of a few months – but they didn’t have magic spirit water.  He swallowed down the lump in his throat and kept reading. 

_Your father’s livid.  You’re so stupid._

That was the last bit of what she’d jotted down.  Mai was clearly mad.  Although, she couldn’t be that mad if she’d actually taken the time to respond.  Zuko had half expected that his query would be met back with silence, or an attempt to track the bird back to him and attack everyone, in which case, he would have felt very bad.  Mai was, luckily, fairly trustworthy.  She hadn’t even added anything telling him not to contact her again.  Then again, she had basically always been the closest thing he himself had ever had to an actual friend, at least before now and Sokka.  They might have really been friends if not for the Azula-shaped stumbling block planted in their way.  (The Azula shaped stumbling block that could soon be removed, he stopped himself from thinking because that was not, actually, in any way conducive to making him feel even the slightest bit better about life.)

Zuko flattened out the paper and scribbled out a quick reply:  _My uncle?_   That was probably pushing it a bit more, but he was a bit concerned about his father being angry.  The prince could still remember vividly and would honestly never forget the last time he’d seen his father angry, and after what he’d done to Azula…hopefully, Iroh wouldn’t take the blame.  He sighed and reattached the letter, setting the bird free, off flying in Mai’s direction.  He watched it go, heart hammering in his chest. 

Things were so simple in Ba Sing Se.  Now, they were so complicated.  Zuko wished for a second that he was back in the city, living with his uncle serving tea, and then paused and snorted.  He’d hated all of that, and now he was wishing for it. 

“Whatcha doing?” Toph asked suddenly behind him, and if pressed in the future, Zuko would deny until his dying day that he ever let out that completely emasculating shriek that had the girl cackling like a maniac. 

“Oh my spirits, you sounded just like Snoozles!” she gasped out between bouts of laughter.  Zuko’s face flushed, not from embarrassment – because he had not, in fact, screeched loud enough to be embarrassed – but obviously, entirely, from anger.  Because he was mad, and not embarrassed.  Obviously.

“I did not!” he grumbled.

“Oh, you totally did!” she continued to cackle, beating one hand against her stomach.  Zuko’s scowl grew as it went on for a minute, then two, then probably five before she finally started dying down.  Wiping the tears from her eyes, she grinned up at him.  “So, sending secret messages to the Fire Nation, huh?  That’s preeetttty suspicious.”  The jest was so obvious that Zuko didn’t even bother getting defensive.  He did, however, wonder why she was so relaxed.

“Just to a friend,” he muttered, and okay, maybe he was a little defensive.

“I have it on good authority – Sokka’s – that your only friends are here, on this ship.  You’re apparently terrible at making friends, no offense.  But kind of true.”  She was still ragging on him, which was weird because Zuko felt like some kind of alarm should be sounded by now. Maybe Toph just thought she could take him if it came to that? Although to be fair, she definitely could.  Especially with _metalbending_ , what was that, even. 

“Yeah, well, Sokka’s wrong.  As he usually is.  And I just wanted to find out if my uncle’s okay.”  And his sister, but he figured it was better not to mention his conflicted, worried feelings for his definitely crazy, completely murderous sister to anyone.

Toph nodded her understanding.  “Your uncle’s a good guy,” she said.  “I like him a lot.  I’m worried about him, too.” 

Zuko shrugged.  “Yeah.  My father – the Fire Lord,” he self-corrected, “is angry.  I just hope he doesn’t blame Uncle.”

“You really care about him.”

“Yeah.”

“He really cares about you, too,” she said. 

Zuko nodded.  “I know.”  Iroh was the only member of his family who did.  Aside from Azula, of course, who did care, but only insomuch as she cared to murder him herself, generally.  One day, he was going to have to sit down and work out his family issues.  It was getting to be too much for even him. 

“Can you maybe not tell anyone about this?” he asked Toph.

“’Bout what?” Toph shot back. “You know me:  didn’t see a thing.”

Zuko groaned.  And he’d thought Sokka was bad.  A yawn overtook his body, then, and he blinked the sudden sleep out of his eyes. 

“Thanks,” he said, somewhat awkwardly, and then gave a quick nod.  Which she couldn’t see.  Right.  “I’m gonna, uh…go to bed now.”

“Sure thing, Sparky,” she said, and waved him away as he left.  Zuko headed back down to the room he’d been given on the ship – luckily, a private one, though he also had conflicted feelings about that.  Sokka had fallen asleep in it a couple times when he claimed the watertribesman he’d been paired with just “snores so loud, it’s not natural, I need to sleep, Zuko!” but other than that, it was all his.  It wasn’t too different from the room he’d lived in for most of the past few years, minus decorations here and there.   It made it easy to sleep – like he’d finally gone home.  The waves knocking against the boat, rocking it, helped, too.  Zuko settled in to his bed, thinking about the day tomorrow.  He’d spend most of it in this room, unless Sokka showed up to drag him out (which he would), but then he remembered: tomorrow was going to be different.  Sokka’s dad had said he wanted to have a meeting with everyone to decide on what to do next. 

Zuko groaned, and burrowed down into his cover.  Well, hopefully it wouldn’t be _that_ bad. 

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

The meeting didn’t start off that bad. It actually went pretty well, right up until Jet showed up.  And then Sokka, in a conversation with his dad, said the thing that had Zuko wanting to slide down in his seat and let the cushion he sat on consume him bodily.

“Yeah, Zuko’s gonna be Aang’s firebending teacher as soon as he’s better,” the other boy had said when asked. 

Zuko couldn’t make himself look up.  Not to face that harsh, accusing glare that had been directed at him from across the table all evening.  It was actually kind of amazing that Jet could maintain that dark look for so long without even glancing away for more than a couple seconds at a time.  It wasn’t so much the anger, though.  Zuko could deal with the anger – it was really easy to get riled back up in response.  It was the betrayal buried deep that he couldn’t deal with. 

Sokka kept shooting him concerned looks, but the prince was ignoring him, too.  In fact, the black haired boy was ignoring almost everyone sitting in the war room of the captured Fire Nation ship, if only because, with the exception of Sokka, Jet, and Toph (who technically couldn’t glance at all, but also just liked Sparky), most of the glances aimed at him sporadically were tinged with distrust and blatant prejudice, even despite Sokka having personally introduced Zuko to everyone that first night at the camp.  Even Katara had seemed to reverse her opinion of him after turning that second batch of lightning back against his sister and watching his Uncle let himself be captured to help them get away, but she was currently in another room of the ship trying to keep the Avatar ( _Aang_ , Zuko reminded himself brusquely) alive. 

The weirdest part of being back in the familiar set up of a Fire Navy ship war room was being surrounded by water tribesmen and the Earth Kingdom natives who were now his allies – and whatever Jet was, boyfriend or broken up, it’s not like they’d talked to decide either way – as opposed to his army underlings from before.  Having underlings had been pretty nice, actually – it was one of those little perks he missed about being a proper prince, even a banished one. The way he had figured it, the next time he saw the inside of a Fire Navy ship would’ve been in chains from the brig, with him still loyal to his father despite.  Zuko hadn’t bothered to put too much thought into what had prompted him to make the sudden switch, although he could see in hindsight that this had been building for a while.  His uncle was more manipulative than anyone gave him credit for.  Iroh hid it well under his big bellied laughter and embarrassingly bad tea jokes.

“—What do you think, Prince Zuko?”

Zuko finally glanced up to see everyone staring at him, expectant and waiting.  Hakoda had apparently asked something he was supposed to answer, but he had no honest idea what it was. Sokka was giving him a supportive smile, and Toph shot him a thumb up.  He still pointedly refused to glance up at the dark looks he could feel emanating from Jet across the table, but it didn’t save him from everyone else’s.  _This_ is why he did not like being around other people.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t actually know what you asked,” the black-haired boy apologized with a faintly embarrassed flush to his cheeks.  He wasn’t particularly expecting the warm smile that came from Sokka’s dad.  He should have, though.  The man had been nothing but pleasant since their introduction. 

“That’s okay, son.” And that was also odd and unexpected, and Zuko wasn’t quite sure how to feel about _anyone_ calling him ‘son’.  It certainly wasn’t an endearment of any kind from his father—the closest he got was Iroh’s loving ‘nephew’.  And thinking about his uncle sent up a pain in his chest that refused to be buried.  He wondered if Mai had gotten his message yet, and if so, when she would reply.  _If_ she would reply again. The prince forced to listen to Hakoda again.  “We were just asking what your recommendations would be should we run into any other Fire Navy ships.”

“Honestly?” he asked, blinking.  The surprise must have been evident on his face, because Hakoda nodded reassuringly (with Sokka nodding emphatically, too, that smile still plastered on).  He glanced around the table, taking a deep look at every single one of the watertribe warriors gathered before responding. “Don’t run into any other Fire Navy ships.”

That elicited a laugh around the table from everyone except the Freedom Fighter who was still trying to kill Zuko with a look, but it still managed to make the Fire Nation teen feel a little more comfortable among the people who until recently would’ve been his enemies. 

“Good advice,” Hakoda grinned, and the firebender was sure that if he had been next to the older man, he would’ve received a hearty slap on the back.  “Now, we’re not trying to pry or anything, and you don’t have to say anything if you don’t feel comfortable because I value the opinions of my children and they both seem okay with you – one in particular more than the other,” Hakoda shot Sokka a wink that had the boy rolling his eyes with an audible groan and a couple of the other tribesmen laughing, “but why _are_ you here?”

There was more blinking on Zuko’s front as everyone around him sat silent, waiting to hear his reply.  Sokka and Toph were both back to looking supportive (even if Toph was gazing slightly off in the wrong direction), and Jet’s demeanour seemed to darken even more, if that was even possible. 

“That’s, uh…kind of hard to explain.  My sister wants me dead, and it’s not like my fa—the Fire Lord cares either way, and I am pretty sure my uncle has been on the Avatar’s side the whole time, anyway.”  When the expectant looks did not go away, the prince sighed.  “It’s a long story,” he settled on instead.  A couple of the men looked disappointed, but they quickly schooled their looks back to normal before anyone could really notice.  Sokka still looked just as supportive as ever, but the other boy knew the story from start to end.  In most of his life, Zuko had barely even imagined having a friend before, much less one like the water tribesman, who had the uncanny ability to understand him almost consistently while in turn forcing him to accept things that he didn’t want to believe either way.  Like with Jet.  He glanced up and over for a second, meeting the glare, and then diverted his eyes. 

‘ _I should’ve listened to Sokka,’_ he thought to himself with a slow, drawn out breath.  Now he was left with this overwhelming sense of guilt, his uncle gone (possibly forever, though Zuko forced himself not to think about that), his one and only chance at going home lost forever, and his first real relationship destroyed.  It didn’t matter to Jet anymore _who_ he was.  It didn’t matter that he had saved them all in Ba Sing Se and possibly mortally wounded his little sister, all while giving up the one thing he had been striving for for over three years in order to side with something he had been brought up to fear because he realised that the Fire Lord was wrong.  Now, all Jet saw was firebender.

And, worse than that, he saw him as prince.

The meeting ended much sooner than Zuko expected, but that might also have had something to do with the fact that he was lost in thoughts for the entire thing.  As everyone around him shuffled to leave (with Jet out the door almost the exact second Hakoda had declared this war council over, not even sparing a second look), the black-haired bender observed the people around him.  Most of the warriors left with little hurry but no delay, while others seemed to take a few wary glances at the former prince before reluctantly leaving.  Sokka and Toph stayed where they were, and the water tribesman who had been sitting next to the chief as well.  Hakoda approached his son, a warm smile on his face, and the two hugged briefly, with the father ruffling Sokka’s hair a bit before speaking.  It was a low, hushed tone, so Zuko could not actually make out what was being said, although he got the impression that he should probably leave from the way the other water tribesman (some B-name – Bato, maybe?  That sounded right) was shooting him pointed glances. 

Still, though, he felt more comfortable to sit there and wait for Sokka to finish, not wanting to risk the chance of running into Jet alone outside in one of the hallways on this suddenly uncomfortably small ship.  There was no telling what the Freedom Fighter would try, he had enough sense to see right now.  This had been the most forced contact they’d had all week, and Jet hadn’t looked happy even once. Zuko really didn’t want to be forced to hurt his boyfriend (ex?) if it came down to it.

And, hey, avoidance was still working well for both of them.  People said you couldn’t avoid your problems, but those people were wrong, and until further notice that was exactly what Zuko would continue to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am super busy at the moment and writing about five different things, so I'm not too sure when the next chapter will be up. I'm aiming for ~31st or so, but it might be later than that. 
> 
> 'Til next time!


	23. Friendship

For the first time in days, Katara had left Aang’s side.  Jet paused and did a double take when he saw his ex-girlfriend scurrying down the hall ahead of him, actually walking through the halls of this spirits-forsaken _Fire_ _Navy_ ship.  Just being in this thing set him on edge; a constant reminder of everything he hated.  He understood the necessity, of course, but still…

No one else had issue with the ship, but then again, no one else had issues with the actual _crown_ _prince_ , banished or not, running around like he owned the place.  Not that Jet had seen much of Zuko recently, aside from the big meeting the other day.  He’d bowed out early, too, unable to handle the rage and hurt that roared up inside him every time he laid eyes on the other boy.  The firebender. 

But that wasn’t important right now.  Zuko wasn’t important.  Katara was important, and Jet had been hoping to see her again at some point.

“Katara!” he called, jogging to catch up with her.  The waterbender turned around, a glare in her eye when she saw him, but then she sighed, and the anger dropped away from her. 

“What do you want, Jet?” she asked.  She sounded more exhausted than anything else right now, and Jet couldn’t blame her.  Even he was bothered by how bad Aang had looked, put into that position by Zuko’s _sister_. 

Jet was so, so angry right now. 

“How’s Aang doing?”

Katara sighed again, and began walking.  “Better,” she said shortly. 

“How are you?”

“Did you actually want something?” She picked up her pace.

“Can you maybe – stop for a second?” 

“Why?  So you can talk to me?”  She was still mad at him, it seemed.  She also didn’t stop at all, and Jet huffed in annoyance.  He was trying to be nice here; she never appreciated when he was trying to be nice.  Or trying to be practical.  Or trying to help them win the war. 

“So I can apologise!” he exclaimed.  “Again.  For – for how I treated you before.”

Katara did stop, and turned back, raising an eyebrow.  “Oh, like I haven’t heard that one before.  You gonna try and tell me how you’ve changed again?  All because, what – you helped us fight off the Fire nation?  Newsflash, Jet: not exactly a huge change for you!”

Seriously?  By all the spirits, why could he never catch a break with her?  You lie to a girl one time and try to destroy a whole village and have her brother killed, and it’s like she can never let it go.  Jet already didn’t have many friends on this ship – or any, really, since it seemed Sokka had been going around blabbing lies to his fellow water tribesmen (and also speaking up Zuko, who the hell knew why) – and given Aang was down for the count, he’d been hoping to at least get one person on his side.  He liked Katara, too. 

Clearly.  That’s what had gotten him into this whole mess. 

He’d also liked _Zuko_.  Maybe he needed to reassess the kinds of people he was attracted to.

Still, Jet was finding himself getting antsy on this tiny ship, wondering if he was going to see Zuko any time he turned a corner. 

“So, what, you can forgive the prince of the Fire Nation for trying to kill you, but you can’t forgive me?  How is that fair?”

“Well – he – Zuko is—!” she flailed, trying to come up with a suitable answer.  Jet fought back the urge to smirk triumphantly when she finally groaned and threw her hands up in frustration.  “You got into a fight with my brother!”

“Hey, he punched me first; I was just defending myself after.”  His face still smarted from the bruising.  Sokka’s face was almost healed, but Sokka had probably cheated and gotten Katara to take time away from her very busy “saving Aang’s life” schedule to heal the beautiful black eye Jet had been happy to leave him.  Implying that he wasn’t good enough for Fire Nation scum.  The audacity.

Zuko wasn’t good enough for _him_.  Zuko had lied to him for weeks; had led him on.  Zuko had convinced him that he’d been wrong; that they had things in common.  Had made him feel bad for him.  Had made him like him, and maybe that was the worst part.  Jet couldn’t make himself get over the fact that he genuinely liked Zuko, and, spirits, that was so wrong on so many levels.  Just the thought set his gears grinding, and now he was mad again. 

 “I’d say that doesn’t sound like my brother, but given it’s you, that’s entirely believable,” Katara admitted. 

“Honestly though,” Jet continued, “I really am just trying to apologise.  I don’t want to keep you any; I get that you’re busy with Aang and all.  This is just the first I’ve really gotten to see you since Ba Sing Se, so…I’m sorry, Katara.  I really am.  And if you need anything, just ask.” 

Tired and stressed as she was, the waterbender melted like she’d bent the ice out of her heart herself.  “Ah. Thanks, Jet.  I appreciate the offer.  I guess…if Zuko can change, you can, too.”  Score one for the Freedom Fighter, but did she really have to compare him to…that?  Well, he’d opened himself up for that, he supposed.  “I’m just getting some food, but…I guess I could probably use the company.”  She offered a small smile, and Jet stopped himself from pumping his fist in joy because that would look stupid and also probably turn her away again.  Not his goal. 

“Sure thing,” he said with a smile.  “Lead the way.” 

No, Jet didn’t have many options in terms of friends on this ship at the moment.  If his only options were Zuko, Sokka, and Katara, well.  He’d best get himself into Katara’s good graces again as soon as possible.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Sokka crept down the long hallway, ears perked up for any sign of trouble.  He glanced around a corner.  Empty.  Coast clear.  He darted across to the other side.  The bowels of the ship were spooky at this time of night, but that didn’t matter.  He was fast.  Lightning quick, keeping watch on all his angles.  No one could sneak up on him.  No one could catch him.  No one could—

“What are you doing?”  Sokka yelped, jumping around, arms already swinging.  Zuko, looking distinctly unimpressed, stepped back to avoid the hit. 

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Sokka exclaimed.  Zuko blinked, his one eyebrow raising.

“I…didn’t?” The prince pointed back down the hallway, and then at the door a few feet ahead on the left.  “I just came from the bathroom.  That’s…my room.  Which you should know.” 

Which Sokka did of course know because he had already spent way too many nights down here bunking with Zuko.  Not because he wanted to spend an exorbitant amount of time with the other boy or anything though, no.  Zuko was one of the lucky few that had gotten a room to himself on the ship.  Sokka didn’t want to say it was because no one wanted to share with the surly prince, but even despite his best efforts and Zuko’s ever-lovable personality (sarcasm intended) the only people really won over to Zuko’s side were the gang, Hakoda, and Bato.  The other tribesmen liked him well enough, sure, but…well.  Firebender.  That was still kind of an issue. 

Unfortunately.

So Zuko got his own room and didn’t have to share with anybody, but Sokka got stuck sharing with like eight other guys, which was great that he was a man now and all, but he’d really gotten used to his own space travelling with Aang and company.  His own tent.  Maybe just sharing with Aang on occasion.  Ba Sing Se especially had spoiled him; they’d all had their own rooms.  And, well, far be it from Sokka to make Zuko feel lonely here; if he decided to camp out with Zuko it was entirely for his friend’s benefit.  Wouldn’t want Zuko to decide to run back home to the Fire Nation, now would they?

It was entirely humanitarian.  Which is why he was sneaking around so no one saw him, surreptitiously trying to make his way to Zuko’s room. That was, however, beside the point.  The point now was that Zuko looked really good blinking the sleep out of his eyes, his shaggy, fast-growing hair looking more unruly than usual. 

“The bathroom’s that way,” Sokka replied without thinking, pointing down the other hallway.  Zuko froze, his eyes turning shifty as heat spread through his face, turning him bright red.  Sokka’s eyes narrowed.  “What are you really up to?”

Sokka yelped again when Zuko grabbed his arm and yanked him into the room, bolting the door behind them.  He turned back to Sokka, face suddenly serious, and the water tribesman had the unfortunate sinking feeling that whatever Zuko was about to say, he was not going to want to hear.

“I have something to tell you,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.  He looked guilty, and Sokka felt his stomach drop.

“…What is it?” he asked cautiously.  Across from him, Zuko started pacing, nervously rubbing his hand up and down his arm as he went.

“One thing first: If the Avatar… _when_ the Avatar – _Aang_ – wakes up…do you guys have a…plan? For what you’re doing next?”

“Well, you know, the plan _was_ to invade the Fire Nation capital and take out your dad—”

“I mean a plan that’s not completely _suicide_ ,” Zuko interjected, and Sokka froze, his mouth gaping open. 

Zuko didn’t know about the plan.  Of course Zuko didn’t know about the plan; Sokka had known better than to bring the plan up to Zuko at any point in time.  Friends or not, Zuko had been a wild card:  no way to tell which way he’d go when the chips were down.  Well, now the chips were down, and Zuko was firmly on their side, and Sokka was realising that there were things he needed to re-evaluate.  More than just how good Zuko looked when he was up out of bed in the middle of the night or how nice he smelled. 

Things like, well…trust.  On Fire Nation matters. 

“Uh, as a matter of fact, our plan was not suicidal, our plan was awesome.  Four words for you, buddy:  day of black sun.”

Sokka could see the exact moment his words processed.  The colour seemed to drain from Zuko’s face all at once.  “You…how do you know about that? Actually, that’s not important.  Is that what you were arranging with the Earth King?”

The water tribesman sighed and moved to plop down on top of Zuko’s bed.  “Yeah,” he said forlornly.  “We had a plan with the generals.  Only good thing now is that at least we still have that surprise, even if our forces are likely to be a little thin.  This…doesn’t bother you, does it?”

Zuko gave a noncommittal shrug.  “You may not have that surprise,” he said quietly.

And that was not what Sokka was expecting to hear from the other boy at all.  Not even a little bit. 

“I think…Azula might know about that plan.”

“Yeah, but…she’s down for the count, right?  You kind of…put her out of commission, didn’t you?”  That was the softest way he could think of to say it, but Zuko still flinched back from it.  He was still sensitive about the whole ‘nearly killing his little sister’ thing.  Understandably.

“No, actually.”  The prince looked frustrated, his pacing cranking up in speed.  “I…don’t freak out.  I’ve been sending messages to Mai.”  It took Sokka a second to realise what had been said. 

“You _what_?!”  Sokka shrieked, jumping back up to his feet.

“I said don’t freak out!” Zuko shouted back.  “And shut up, would you!  It’s the middle of the night; you don’t need to wake everyone up!  Besides, Toph already knows.”

“Of course Toph knows.  Why the hell are you talking to anyone in the Fire Nation?!”  That was the real question here.  After he was just giving himself a pep talk about trust and everything. 

“Because in case you forgot:  I’m Fire Nation, Sokka!  And also…I just wanted to find out how my sister and uncle are doing, okay?!”

Oh.  Right.  None of the missives they’d intercepted so far had been relevant to any of Zuko’s family, aside from the Fire Lord’s triumph about conquering the world.  And, honestly, Zuko didn’t let on that he cared at all about what his father thought of anything. 

“My uncle is…in prison, but generally fine, she said.  But…Azula woke up.  I honestly don’t know whether to be happy or upset about that.”  Zuko was staring at the floor, face twisted up with an emotion Sokka couldn’t quite place as the older boy scratched at his arm.  “But then I thought about it, how she invaded the palace…if she knows about your plan, it won’t be a surprise. She’s not all there yet, but it likely won’t take long for her to recover.”  By Yue, that wasn’t good.  The only thing they had going for them was the element of surprise, and now they had no way of knowing if it would work or not.  Although, even without the surprise, what other choice did they have? 

Especially if Aang didn’t wake up.

Sokka shook his head.  That didn’t bear thinking about.  Katara said he was doing better, and she’d used the magic spirit water, and if Azula was awake, then Aang had to be waking up soon, too. They’d have a fully functional Avatar by then.  A fully functional Avatar who could command all four elements, hopefully.

“And also, Mai’s a friend.  She won’t tell anyone.” 

“Hey, I thought you didn’t have any friends except for me,” Sokka said. 

“Who told you that?”  Zuko looked genuinely confused.  Your complete lack of social skills, Sokka didn’t say.  But then, from the little he knew of Mai, she didn’t seem to have the most competent social skills either. She’d let them just straight up take Bosco without a fight, even.  He could see how they might’ve gotten along.

“You did, I’m pretty sure.”  Not that it really mattered.  Sokka was just surprised; it couldn’t have been easy making friends from the palace.  Friends who, three years later, Zuko still found he could rely on.  Sokka was suddenly curious about Mai, and he’d never been too curious about either of Azula’s lackeys before.  “So:  wanna help me build an effective new plan to invade the Fire Nation on the day you all lose your bending?  You’ve got all the secret passages down, I assume.”

Zuko blanched.  “I…I don’t…”  And, okay, maybe that was a little insensitive to ask. 

“Right.  Asking too much.  That’s cool; I get it.  We can talk more about it tomorrow.  Anyway:  can I crash here again tonight?  The snoring upstairs is driving me crazy.”

The prince shrugged his approval, and Sokka high-fived himself.  Mission accomplished.

** xXxXxXxXxXx **

Katara was out of her room again.  It’d been three days since the last time Jet had run into her.  Three days of storming around angrily, leaving the room whenever Zuko walked in, and generally avoiding everyone except for at the council meetings and food time.  Zuko was everywhere else, it seemed, no matter how much Jet tried to avoid him.  It was way too small of a ship.  And then there was Sokka, doggedly on the fire prince’s heels every time Jet looked.  It was disgusting. 

Right now, Jet sat with Katara in the huge, open room under the deck where everyone tended to gather for food.  Not many people were around, given the time of day, so the two of them sat chatting idly as they finished their food.  Jet had even managed to pull three smiles out of her today; he was slowly but surely winning the water bender over to his side. 

The door clicked open, and then footsteps down the stairs, and he turned to see Zuko making his way down, Sokka – predictably – right there behind him.  The water tribesman’s voice echoed loudly, his laughter carrying all the way over here as Zuko gave him a tight-lipped smile.  Jet scowled.

“You know, Jet,” Katara said, “You say you’ve changed, and I do believe you – I do think you have – but if you really want to…just go to talk to Zuko.”

“What?  No.  He’s the prince of the _Fire Nation_ , I have nothing to say to him!”  What was wrong with her?  What was wrong with everyone on this ship?  And when were they planning to come in to port so he could go back to Freedom Fighting his way?

Katara shrugged, her chopsticks dragging across the plane. “Zuko and I were…trapped in the catacombs for a while together.  He said something about you – said you were his friend.  I know he’s a firebender, but Jet:  he’s not that bad.  He saved our lives.  You were there. You saw him.  If you really want to prove to me you’ve changed – if you want a second chance at…this,” she gestured between them, and for half a second, he wondered where she’d gotten the idea that that was his goal here.  Then again, that was usually his goal, so maybe she was right about that.

“Fine, I guess I could…try.”  She smiled.

“He’s great; you’ll see.  If you could like him before, I’m pretty sure you’ll still be able to like him now.”

Naivety.  That’s what this was.  Ugh.  Jet didn’t want to even think about the fact that he’d ‘liked’ Li ever, but acknowledging him as Zuko?  The thought made his blood boil.  Then again, he didn’t actually have to talk to Zuko, did he?  Just pretend like he’d made the effort.  Then, at least, he would have one friend on this ship.

“Sure, Katara,” Jet agreed with an easy smiling, hiding the turbulent rage that sat just underneath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the reeeeeeeeeeaally long time between updates; I have been mad busy. Also I've had computer issues up the wazoo. My computer crashed on me in March, and then died on me fully over the summer, and I was entirely without a computer for a while. I lost a whole chapter, and a lot of notes, but enough of my stuff was backed up that I know where the story as a whole is going even if not necessarily the chapters. So, here's this one that I had to rewrite entirely withotu any idea of what the purpose of this chapter was going to be. Here's hoping it's not meandering. 
> 
> Hope you had fun!


	24. Looking Up

“If the ships are moving this way,” Zuko dragged his finger over the map, outlining the path Hakoda’s men had plotted out from their intelligence, “You could probably cut through the inlet here.  It’s risky going back through the Serpent’s Pass, but there tend to be less patrols out there.”  He glanced up at Sokka’s father, mindful of the thoughtful murmuring in the room.

Hakoda hummed.  “Yes, that’s what our scouts said, too.  And it does also seem like the Fire Navy has gotten more lax since Ba Sing Se fell,” he agreed.

“They have,” Zuko said bluntly.  He hadn’t expected they would, not given Azula’s situation, but as far as anyone seemed to be concerned, the Avatar was dead and the war won.  And, well, his father really had never cared much, had he?

“Yeah, and then we can finally head out into the open sea!” Sokka said excitedly.  “And then we’ll still have plenty of time to prepare before the invasion.” 

Zuko managed to stop the grimace before it came over his face.  Sokka kept bringing up the invasion, now that he’d spilled the beans, and the prince wasn’t sure how he felt about it.  It was necessary, he reminded himself.  And it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for him, either.  Uncle was back in the Fire Nation – back in the capital, at that – and at the very least, if he helped them, he could hopefully find him.  But he still hadn’t been able to commit either way to Sokka as to whether or not he would help with the plans.  He wouldn’t hinder them, at any rate, and he could help navigate. 

Even having been banished, he knew more about the ins and outs of his military than anyone else here. 

“That’s right.”  Hakoda smiled at his beaming son.  He turned to Zuko.  “Thank you for the help, it’s very much appreciated.”

Zuko shrugged half-heartedly.  “It’s fine,” he said shortly.  He’d barely done anything, let alone anything to be thanked over.  The constant gratitude was starting to grate his nerves.  He might not be fully sold on everything they were doing here, but he had just as much interest as them in avoiding the Fire Navy, if not more.  And a vested commitment, now that he’d decided to help Aang, Agni help him.

“Well, that about covers everything we needed for now,” Hakoda continued.  “It’s almost dusk; we’ll make landfall once night comes and stock up on supplies.  There’s a bay we can pull into not too far from the ferry.”

Supplies.  They were looking to be on here for a while, then.  Zuko couldn’t say he minded.  There was a predictable sort of comfort, living on this ship, that he hadn’t realised he’d missed.  Even among the still mostly strange people, the metal hull, the fire banners everywhere, and the uniforms felt like home.  He hadn’t been able to bring himself to put one on again yet, but that didn’t matter so much.  He’d spent years wearing that armour already, and if he was being entirely honest with himself, the green clothing he’d been wearing since Ba Sing Se was significantly more comfortable than that.  His only other option was to borrow something from any of the water tribesman, but honestly, blue was not his colour.  Zuko would rather wash and dry his Earth Kingdom clothing every day than dress in blue for fun. 

The real question was why none of the soldiers they’d commandeered this vessel from had seemed to have anything resembling casual wear anywhere.  But whatever.  There were plenty of cloaks arounds, and he’d end up putting armour on when they were venturing nearer to steady patrols. 

Spirits, he didn’t want to know what Jet would think when he saw him.  He’d be lucky if his boyfriend (or ex, whatever) didn’t pick a fight.  Although, Jet would put some armour on, too, if he knew what was good for him. 

“Man, I cannot wait to get off this ship!” Sokka exclaimed.  They were walking down the hallways now, the meeting with Sokka’s dad having finished.  “Full offense, Zuko, but the Fire Nation does not know how to design comfortable living spaces.”

“Or you just don’t appreciate good design,” he shot back.  “I haven’t slept this well in months.”

“Yeah, because his highness gets a room all too himself.” Sokka elbowed him lightly and stuck his tongue out.  The weight in Zuko’s chest lifted as he rolled his eyes at the other boy.

“It’s hard to say I have a room to myself when you _never leave it_.”  There’d been maybe two nights so far when Sokka hadn’t shown up, not that Zuko minded.  The company was nice.  He half suspected Sokka was using him to not think about Aang still comatose, wondering if their only chance at ending the war was going to live or die.  Keeping Zuko’s relatively limited good spirits up kept Sokka’s good spirits up. 

“It’s not my fault you have the most comfortable bed on the ship.  Which, you know, we had to give you because your royal back obviously cannot handle toughing it out like the rest of us real men.”  Sokka puffed out his chest and nodded decisively.  Zuko snorted.  That wasn’t even worth the comeback Sokka was aiming for, it was so ridiculous.  And also wrong because all the beds on this ship were equally uncomfortable.  Zuko would know, he’d lived on one just like this for three whole years.  Of course he’d tested out all the different beds.  It was his right as prince to have the most comfortable one.

…And that was a thought he was never going to share out loud, especially not in front of Sokka.  Next to him, Sokka suddenly stiffened.  Zuko glanced down the hallway to see Jet walking this way, the glare already set on his face, eyebrows arching low. 

“Sokka,” he greeted lowly.

“Jet,” was the even reply.  And then, surprisingly, Jet’s eyes drifted over.

“… _Zuko_ ,” he ground out, the word spat like it was poison, but Zuko felt a weird sort of happiness bubble up inside him that he couldn’t quite quantify.  This was the first time Jet had actively acknowledged him since Ba Sing Se.  It had to be progress of some kind, right?  Maybe he just needed time:  time to adjust his beliefs to reality.  To come around.  The same way his father just needed time to come around and see what a giant mistake he’d made by kicking Zuko out of the _entire_ _country_ over some minor disrespect. 

“Hi,” he said.  Jet stared at him, and maybe Zuko should’ve invested in some of the ship’s armour, because that glare was sharp.  Then again, if he’d been fully decked out, that glare would probably turn armour-piercing in its intensity.  Jet had never been shy about his feelings on the Fire Nation. 

And then Jet said the words that Zuko simultaneously least wanted to hear but had been dying for for days:  “We need to talk.”

“Maybe you should talk when you don’t look like you’re about to try and kill him,” Sokka snapped.  And, okay, that needed to stop.  He liked Sokka.  Really, he did.  But Zuko could handle Jet.  He’d handled him before, back in Ba Sing Se, and, sure, he didn’t always make the right choices – he very rarely made the right decisions, if past history was anything to base on, which it obviously wasn’t – but if push came to shove and Jet tried anything, Zuko didn’t need Sokka trying to fight his battles for him.  He also didn’t need to hide his firebending anymore, which put them on an entirely new fighting field. 

“It’s fine,” Zuko said to him.

“Yeah, but—!”

“Give us a minute,” he said more firmly, giving Sokka a pointed look.  The blue-clad boy grumbled under his breath. 

“Fine, whatever.   I’ll meet you up on the deck when you’re done.”

Spirits, Zuko wanted to go with him.  He watched him leave, not dragging his eyes away until Sokka disappeared down the corner, and now he was here.  Alone.  With Jet.

 _Great_.

“So,” Jet began without preamble.  “ _Firebender_.” 

Zuko didn’t reply.  If Jet had something else he needed to say, something other than the obvious – which wasn’t an insult no matter how hard he tried – then he needed to just say it.  He crossed his arms over his chest and did his best to keep his glare steady, ignoring the tiny flame of guilt that had burst to life inside him again.  Jet laughed.

“Not going to apologise, then?” That same familiar hatred burned in Jet’s eyes. 

“What happened to ‘don’t talk to me, don’t look at me’?” Zuko snapped back.  It wasn’t his fault they hadn’t spoken until now.  The words had hurt then, and they hurt now, repeating them, even if part of him felt they were deserved.  Stillness filled the space between them, but the next second, the Freedom Fighter exploded.

“So that whole time, you were lying to me!  Through everything!  I _trusted_ you!”

“Of course I was lying!” Zuko shouted back, the larger rage and hurt built up inside him engulfing the lick of guilt in an instant.  “Why by any of the spirits would I have told you, Jet?  Even if we weren’t in – in Ba Sign Se of all the damn places.  You want to talk about trust?  How the hell could I trust _you_?  You talked about it nonstop!  How much you hate the _Fire Nation_.  You just suspected – with no proof! – that we were firebenders and then proceeded to stalk, harass, and then confront us, to – to, what, get us arrested?  And then _executed_?”  Zuko didn’t even care that he was shouting in the middle of the hallway.  No one was around but them, but it would only take one person passing to turn this into a scene.

“Be better than what you deserve!” 

“We were refugees!  Just like everyone else!”

“So says the _prince_ of the Fire Nation!”

“Oh, yeah.  The prince.  The banished, traitor prince, or did the hawk not deliver you the _stupid_ message when my _sister_ tried to _murder_ me last week!”

“Yeah, well, it’s awfully convenient that while Aang ended up nearly dead, you just walked off what she threw at you!”

“Because I’m a _firebender_ , you idiot, which is what you hate the most! Besides, I’m sure you’d prefer if I was the one almost dead, and not _her_ who would’ve _killed all of us_ , right?!”

“I wouldn’t waste any tears!  You know, you had me feeling so bad for you.  I _liked_ you, Li!  Or – Zuko!  All that nonsense about the Blue Spirit, scourge of the Fire Nation, you really had me believing you.  And I was right!  The whole time!  You weren’t some victim – you _are_ them!  You think Katara didn’t tell me anything about how you went after Aang?  What, did you burn your own face so no one would question you, or are you just _that bad_ at firebending?!”  Jet’s chest heaved.

Zuko ground his teeth together, his fist clenching tighter at his side.  He was used to people thinking he’d done this to himself, but right now, in this conversation, he couldn’t take it.  It had been ages since he’d last wanted to punch someone this badly, although funnily enough, the last person he could remember wanting to hit like this had also been Jet.  “You made assumptions on your own, idiot!  I didn’t tell you to break into my house; I didn’t tell you I was the Blue Spirit! You did that yourself! And, no, I didn’t burn my own face because I’m actually pretty good at firebending, which must suck for _you_ because you’re the one who slept with me!  Who wanted to date me, actually, or did _you_ forget that you’re my _boyfriend_?”

Jet’s jaw worked angrily – wordlessly, as his glare sharpened to a sword point.  When he replied, he ignored the prince’s last point entirely. “Well, I guess I don’t have to pity you for it anymore because it turns out you’re just as ugly on the inside as you are on the outside!”

Zuko reeled back, his eye widening as he watched Jet turn on his heel and stalk back down the hallway, muttering angrily under his breath as he went.  His heart thrummed as he stared blankly after him, all the while trying to ignore the hurt tightening around his lungs.  How was Jet so far under his skin?  Why was he letting this bother him so much?  He knew what he looked like; he’d lived with it for years, he just…even as mad as Jet was right now, he just hadn’t expected the other boy to say anything like that.

But, the niggling voice in the back of his mind pointed out as he turned down the hallway to head back to his room, thoughts of meeting up with Sokka forgotten, as angry as Jet was, he hadn’t ended things between them.  He’d said nasty things, but he hadn’t denied that they were…together.

That had to mean something, right?

~~~

Jet had spent most of the rest of the day curled up in the corner of a dank room somewhere in the ship stewing.  There was no one else around, so he didn’t have to look at the Fire Navy uniforms or any of the flame decorations, or anything red, or even Zuko anymore.  He was so angry.  No matter what Katara had insisted, he hadn’t planned on talking to the other boy at all, but then he’d seen him there and everything he’d wanted to say had been dying to come out, bubbling up to the surface and he hadn’t just brushed past him like normal. 

He needed off this ship.

Not permanently – there wasn’t really anywhere else for him to go or anyone else to go to.  And they were still planning to invade the Fire Nation, to help overthrow the Fire Lord on the day of black sun here, and Jet needed to be a part of that.  He wasn’t about to miss the ultimate fight for freedom even if it did mean sharing any kind of close space with Zuko for who knew how long. 

This boat was just too small for both of them right now, and he needed space.  As soon as they’d docked, he’d jumped over the side and made his way for town, barely taking heed of the warned “only here for a couple hours so be fast and don’t bring any attention to yourself”.  The town around the ferry port was small.  There wasn’t much around to it, really, just a few rickety houses and some stores where the water tribesman were stocking up on supplies.  Jet was contenting himself by just enjoying the solid ground, walking the roads between the town and the bay where they’d docked to hide the boat.  This was all familiar to him; it’d been only a couple months ago that he’d been here, walking the wilderness as he got ready to board the boat into the city. 

The boat where he’d met Li for the first time. 

Zuko.

Damn it.

“Jet!” a familiar, annoying angry voice called from behind him.  Jet scowled and walked faster.  He was close to the edge of town, but unfortunately not close enough to try and lose his tail.  “Hey, no – you wait right there!”  Spirits, Sokka was persistent.  He was getting closer, running to catch up with him.  This was going to descend into another fight; he could already feel it brewing. Good.  He wanted to hit someone again, and this time there was no one around to stop them. “What the hell did you say to him?”

Jet stopped and swung around, watching Sokka as he got closer.  “Nothing that wasn’t the truth.  What does it matter to you, anyway?”  Or mostly the truth.  Even with the scar, Zuko wasn’t ugly, and, no, that was not the kind of thing he wanted to think about.  How the hell could he still be attracted to him?  Why couldn’t he stop _liking_ him, even as mad as he was?

Sokka jabbed a finger into Jet’s chest.  “Because he’s locked himself up in his room all afternoon and now won’t even speak to me!  Which I’m sure you don’t care about, but if you’re just going to say awful things to him, you’re probably better off just acting like he doesn’t exist again!”

“Well, tell him to stay out of my way, and I will!”

“You’re the one who needs to stay out of his way!  I swear to Yue—!”

“Jet?” a new deep voice broke in, cutting Sokka off from whatever else he was about to say.  “Sokka?”  Both boys turned.  A familiar, large teen stood on the road behind them, a smaller figure sitting on his shoulder, and immediately Jet forgot his anger.  A wide grin spread over his face.

“Pipsqueak!  The Duke!  Hey, what are you guys doing here?”

“You know,” Pipsqueak replied, giving his free shoulder a slow shrug, “Wandering.  We saw a ship down in the bay we were gonna try raidin’.  But then we saw you walking from it.”

“What?” Sokka jerked his head around to see them.  “No!  You can’t raid our ship!”

“Your ship?  But it’s Fire Nation!” The Duke chimed.  His helmet slid down over his eyes, and he snorted angrily and pushed it back up. 

“Uh, yeah – our ship.  We captured it; it’s ours now.  We’re travelling incognito.  No Fire Nation on board.”

“Except _Zuko_ ,” Jet muttered under his breath.  Sokka kicked him in the leg.  Jet kicked him back, smiling when the water tribesman let out a loud yelp at his newly bruised shin.  Some things still brought him joy, and hurting the annoyingly jealous other teen was one of them.  Not that Jet was bothered by how weirdly jealous and clingy Sokka seemed to be over Zuko.  That was his business.  Jet wanted nothing to do with the _firebender_.

Really.

He just needed someone else to think about.  Friends, like what he was trying to do with Katara.  Friends, like…like the friends standing in front of him right now, smiling at their unexpected reunion.

“Oh, hey, guys – you should come with us!”

“Wait; what?” That was Sokka, but Jet ignored him, a skill he was happy to say he’d now perfected.

“It’s the ultimate freedom fight, and who better to help than the Freedom Fighters, right?”

Pipsqueak nodded, and Jet’s smile widened.  It was good to have people who trusted him around again; it was a shame Smellerbee and Longshot were still probably trapped in Ba Sing Se.  He wondered if they were okay.

Yeah, they were fine.  They could take care of themselves.  Pipsqueak and the Duke, who were here before him, on the other hand…well, whether they could or not, he could use them.  His friends. 

“You can’t just go inviting anyone back onto our ship!” Sokka protested.

“Don’t we need every man we can get?” he shot back.

“And every woman, but that – that’s not the point!”

“So…what are we fighting exactly?” Pipsqueak asked. 

“Oh, it’s a good one.  Big.  Come back to the ship with me, and I’ll tell you when we’re there,” he replied, turning back down the path without looking back to see if he was being followed.  He knew he was.  For the first time since he left Ba Sing Se, Zuko was not on his brain.

His days, it seemed, were suddenly looking up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't noticed, I have officially decided on an approximate number of chapters for the rest of the story to have! We are more than halfway there, but the end is finally in sight. Hope you liked this one, cuz the next chapter...
> 
> ;)
> 
> (Also, I'm strongly considering rewriting the whole beginning of this fic; thoughts? Opinions? I started this story seven years ago, and I am much improved nowadays)
> 
> See you in two weeks!


	25. Inner Zen

Sokka looked over his invasion plans, a low hum buzzing under his breath.  He sighed.  Papers rustled as he flipped through the pages.  He sighed again.  More flipping.  And again.  And a—

“Would you quit that?  Geeze, Snoozles, what is your problem?”  Sokka glanced up at Toph.  The earthbender sat a ways away, glaring slightly off to the left of his head as she picked earwax out with a pinkie. 

“What?  Problem?  I don’t have a problem.  What would make you think I have a problem?  Maybe you have a problem.  I am perfectly peachy!  What could there possibly be for me to be upset about?  I mean, sure, Aang’s in a coma, and the Fire Nation has conquered the world, and Katara’s barely speaking to our dad – and possibly mad at me, I’m not entirely sure – and Jet generally exists in my vicinity and on this ship, and I’m pretty sure Zuko’s avoiding me now, but how could I _possibly have a problem_?!”  His voice grew louder through his rant, the last sentence ending in what could only be described as a shriek. 

Toph continued to pick her ear, that pinkie finger really digging in deep.  “Uh-huh,” she said.  “When was the last time you slept?”

“I have had sleep!”  Two days ago, but what did that matter?  He’d attempted to sleep last night: that was more than good enough.  “I don’t need sleep.  I need to work on these invasion plans.  That’s what’s important.  Oh!  Did I tell you my awesome idea?  So, a ship, but get this:  one that goes underwater!  With waterbending!  Great, right?  I mean, I’m not too sure how we’ll breathe, but I’m sure Teo and his dad can figure that out.  The machinist is a genius.  How’s it looking?”  He picked up his rather elaborate drawing and held it up for Toph.  Her pinkie didn’t slow down for a second as she yawned.

“The absolute worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Hey, it’s not that bad—!  Oh.  Right.  Okay, sorry, I deserved that.”  Every time.  He did it every time.  One day, Sokka would learn.

“So,” Toph continued, pushing herself to sit up straight.  “Sparky’s avoiding you, is he?”

Sokka slammed the papers back down onto the floor in front of him.  “Really?  That’s what you choose to focus on?”  He scowled at her.  A wasted scowl since she couldn’t see it.  Sokka really hoped she could sense his displeasure radiating out towards her with her super earthbending feet senses. “You know we’re trying to invade the Fire Nation, right?”

Toph shrugged. “Sure, but that doesn’t bother you nearly as much as our favourite cactus prince growing a little more prickly, does it?”  She grinned at him, and for a second Sokka was tempted to lob something small at her head.  Why’d she have to go and invent metalbending?  Now he could never risk anything with her.  Ever. 

Even though it was really, really cool.

“Okay, fine.  You got me.  But I know what you’re thinking, and, no.  This has nothing to do with any feelings I may or may not have for Zuko.  This is entirely just friendly concern because Zuko needs a friend right now.  Which is what I am.  His friend.  You need to stop talking to my dad.”

Toph’s grin only widened, and Sokka really, really hated that look on her face.  What did she know about things, anyway?  She was literally twelve.  “I don’t talk to your dad,” she said.  Sokka chose to ignore that.

He sighed.  “Look, it’s just…they had a weird confrontation yesterday, and I don’t know what Jet said to him, but I don’t know why he listens to him at all!  I don’t know why he even started dating him, he knew it was a bad idea.  What is it about Jet that people keep falling for?  He is so obviously bad news!  And why is Jet even still on this ship?  He adds nothing to my invasion plans.  Nothing!  …Except Pipsqueak and the Duke, they’re actually pretty helpful to have, I will admit.  Though we probably could’ve gotten them even if he were, I don’t know, dead in the middle of an Earth Kingdom lake somewhere!  So like I said:  he adds nothing.”

“And his royal firebenderness does?”

Sokka had the answer for that lined up before the question even finished.  “Zuko’s already agreed that he’s gonna teach Aang firebending, so, yeah.  He does.”

Toph didn’t respond, and the silence stretched out for way too long, growing heavier with each passing moment.

“If he wakes up,” she finally said quietly.  Sokka had never seen the steady earthbender look so unsure before.  His own chest twinged with worry, but he shook it away.  No.  No distractions.

“ _When_ he wakes up,” the boomerang boy corrected.  “Katara says he’s doing better now.  And, you know, magic spirit oasis water is magic.  I mean, hey, she’s actually been leaving the room for hours at a time, now, so…”

Besides, Aang had to wake up.  There was no other option.  Without the Earth Kingdom’s forces to rely on, the bulk of the plan hinged on the Avatar’s shoulders.  Theoretically, they could pull it of without him, but…it was less than ideal.  It was, quite frankly, suicidal: Zuko was right about that.  Without Aang, the whole world was lost.

And Aang was too…Aang to not wake up.  Sokka didn’t even want to think about what it would be like if he didn’t.  Azula was awake, he reminded himself.  She was awake without magic water help.  It was just a matter of time.

Sokka cleared his throat.  Aang, he couldn’t do anything about.  That was all up to his sister now.  The invasion he could do something about.  Zuko and Jet, he could do something about.  He just…hadn’t quite figured out what yet.  For either.

“So, yeah, Zuko’s gonna teach him firebending,” he repeated.  “And I’m pretty sure I can convince him to help with the invasion plans, even if he decides not to, y’know…actually invade with us.”

Giddiness bubbled up inside him, thinking of Zuko’s warning again.  He was so very grateful that the prince was on their side now.  Mostly on their side.  Enough to matter, at any rate.  Then again, it wasn’t like Zuko had much of anywhere to go. 

Jet, on the other hand, needed to go.  Except they did need everyone they could get.  Why were his Freedom Fighters actually so helpful? There were only two of them, and it’d only been one day, yet Pipsqueak was so far pulling more than his own weight already.  And Pipsqueak weighed a hell of a lot.  Sokka sighed again.

Maybe Jet was also best put off for later.  Which left just the invasion.  This, he could do.

“Okay!” he declared.  “Enough distractions.  If you’re not gonna be helpful, you can leave, but it’s time for the plan guy to get planning!”

Things hadn’t gone nearly as smoothly as he’d hoped last week when he and Aang had left Ba Sing Se, but they weren’t unsalvageable.  Yet.  Sokka was just going to take what they had on hand (Jet included) and make the most of it.  Because that’s what he did.

+++

Zuko inhaled, taking a slow, steady deep breath as he pulled air into his lungs, held it, and then even more slowly released it, letting the air flow out through his mouth.  His eyes closed, he could feel the tiny flames surrounding him moving in rhythm.  It had been ages since he’d last properly meditated – ages since he _could_ – but back on a Fire Nation ship, it hadn’t been hard to scrounge up some candles.

Meditation was supposed to be calming.  It’d never really worked for him in the past – although it’d worked better than Uncle’s “calming tea”, at any rate – but the firebender needed something right now.  Something to help clear his mind of the thunderstorm of rolling thoughts inside and to at the very least realign himself.  Maybe, if he was lucky, even find that inner peace he’d found before Azula had shown up to wreck it all.

Azula.

Zuko had been doing a great job of not thinking about his sister, what with everything else happening in his life.  Azula was not only alive, but awake.  It should’ve filled him with relief, but it didn’t.  Nothing did lately.

 _‘I didn’t kill my sister,’_ he repeated to himself.  But…if he had…if just maybe, he had…would things be better?  Would Uncle Iroh have managed to get away with them?  Would the Dai Li have turned on the invading soldiers rather than help them?  Or, in the farthest reaches of his mind he wondered, would his father have called him home for need of an heir?  Zuko didn’t even know if he wanted that anymore, but now more than ever, he wanted to go back home.  Maybe because sometime between shouting at Jet yesterday and now, it had finally hit him.  He’d ruined that chance for himself forever.  Especially if Azula was awake.  There was no backing out now; he'd thrown his lot in with the Avatar for good without thinking.

The crazy thing about this whole situation, though?  The prince wouldn’t even mind so much except that now Iroh was gone, too.  Sure, his uncle was proud of him – he’d made that clear, loosening the tight ball of rage that sat inside his chest all the time – but at what cost?  Especially with Azula gearing up to go back on the rampage.  Zuko breathed out sharply, and the flames flared up.  He scowled.

This was not accomplishing what he’d wanted it to accomplish.  The purpose of meditating was to clear his head, not to brood on his problems.  He had way too many problems right now for that.  Like Jet. 

‘ _Just ignore him,’_ he told himself, breathing in once more.   Easier said than done.  On the list of important problems in his life right now, Jet was near the bottom.  Hell, Jet wasn’t even on the list because what were boyfriend problems when you’d just exploded your whole life in your face? 

Boyfriend.

So, they were still together.  Jet hadn’t denied that, right?  Which meant Zuko had been worrying for nothing.  This was probably just one of those relationship rough patches.  Everyone had them, didn’t they?  Zuko could still remember the way his parents used to fight sometimes when they thought they were alone.  When Azula had snuck him around the palace to spy on them.  Sure, his father wasn’t the nicest person in general, but they’d been married.  His mother had given just as much as she’d gotten, so she’d clearly been a match for him.  Marriage meant something. Relationships meant something. They meant work.

Zuko obviously didn’t regret a thing, but that didn’t mean that Jet didn’t have a right to be mad.  Sokka would probably say he was being stupid.  Again.  That what Jet had said was inexcusable and rude, or that he was just trying to be downright nasty.  Zuko, though.  Zuko had said many hurtful things in his life – many truly despicable things, looking back on it – to Iroh.  Things that, true or not, he didn’t really mean.  Things he’d never intended to say to his uncle who had only ever just offered him love in a way even his parents hadn’t. 

Sokka just didn’t know what it was like to be that angry.  Jet did, and Zuko did.

The water tribesman meant well, but the prince didn’t need “well meanings” in his life right now.  He needed to get his head on straight.  He needed patience.

He probably needed a spot of calming tea.  A ginseng, preferably.

Agni, what was wrong with him?

A knock on the door broke Zuko’s concentration, snapping his mind away from the fires around his room.  They roared up for a split second before settling back down into the small, flickering flames they were meant to be.  His scowl deepened.  Sokka again?  Could Sokka not take the hint that he wanted to be left alone? They weren’t attached together.  He could spend five minutes by himself.

Zuko jumped up, bare feet stomping along the metal floor towards the door, and yanked it open.

“What?!” he snapped into…Jet’s…face.  Well, crap.  Not Sokka then.

Not that Jet was really much better.  No, he was so much worse. 

His boyfriend’s eyes flicked to the mass of candles filling the room behind him.  Zuko’s lips tightened.  Jet was just going to have to accept the fact that he was a firebender.  It wasn’t something that he could change about himself nor would he ever want to. 

“Oh.  Jet.  What do you want?”  Straight to the point.  He was proud of himself for not faltering any, keeping his voice steady as he faced down his boyfriend.  The only thing he could think would be more unnerving right now was facing his father.  All of a sudden, he wished it really was Sokka that had been here at the door, harassing him per usual with a friendly grin on his face. 

Jet’s eyes hadn’t peeled from where they perused the inside of his room yet.  “What are you doing?” the Freedom Fighter demanded.

“Meditating,” he said bluntly.  Jet could take of that as he would.  Zuko was never going to hide his bending again if he could help it, and he was never going to hide it from Jet again.  He wouldn’t flaunt it, but…this was his own space.  His own personal, private space, and he could firebend to his heart’s content within these metal walls no matter what Jet’s feelings on the matter.  “Do you need something?”

“We didn’t finish our conversation yesterday.”

“We didn’t?  Because you’re the one who stormed off and left me there.  So I think you said enough.”  Calm.  He was maintaining his calm.  Finding his inner zen.  Channelling Ba Sing Se Zuko.  That was a good version of himself.  He needed more calm.  Relaxation.  He could do it.  He could maintain his calm, even temper for as long as he needed to speak to Jet.  The rolling guilt eating away at his stomach didn’t mean anything.  He was perfectly okay with not finishing this conversation; Jet could come back when he’d gotten over himself.

“Go away,” he said bluntly.  Jet didn’t listen, but Zuko didn’t know why he’d ever expected the Freedom Fighter would.  Instead, Jet slipped past Zuko into his room.  The prince’s fist tightened on the door, but he didn’t have the energy to turn him away.  Instead, he closed the room door.

“Fine!” Zuko announced.  “Just do what you want and then leave.” 

Jet’s brow furrowed more even as he nodded.  “Okay,” he said, and then, for the second time in their history, Zuko found himself completely and utterly shocked when Jet leaned over and kissed him.

Well.  He definitely had not seen that one coming.

Again.

This was the zoo all over.  There was a tongue in his mouth again.  He still wasn’t sure how it’d gotten here when Jet was just over there and mad at him, but this time, he didn’t feel the urge to bite, and let it play out, even as he was too stunned to react.  So…progress? 

Jet pulled back, shaking his head.  The glower on his face had only grown now, and Zuko wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that.  “That was not what I meant to do!” The Freedom Fighter exclaimed, stepping back.  “Spirits, why do I like you so much?  You’re a firebender!”  Zuko didn’t have an answer to that question.  He’d been asking that question about Jet since he met him, aside from the whole “firebender” thing.  Clearly. 

But this was progress.  Jet did still like him.  He was here and had just kissed him, and he looked like he was gearing up to try and pick another fight.  Zuko didn’t want to fight with Jet again.  He didn’t want to fight with anyone right now, but least of all Jet.  Before the taller boy could say anything else, Zuko wrenched his fists into Jet’s shirt and leaned up to kiss him again.

This was definitely better.  And this was definitely what they needed. 

+++

It was early the next morning when Sokka woke up.  Way earlier than usual.  He tried to go back to sleep, but when that didn’t work, he lay in his bed, surrounded by the snores of still-sleeping water tribesman around him before finally jumping up to his feet. Zuko had had a whole day to himself to mope or do whatever it was when he wanted to be left alone.  He was an early riser.  He should, hopefully, be awake.  Sokka was going to drag him out to socialise even if he had to use boomerang to do it.

Zuko should fear boomerang.  He’d felt it first hand back in the Southern Water Tribe.  Ah, the good ol’ days of Zuko trying to hunt Aang.

Sokka whistled to himself as he wandered down the empty hall, basking in the stillness of pre-dawn.  He had just reached the turn to the hallway Zuko’s room was on when he paused.  What time was it anyway?  Was Zuko actually awake?  Was it the middle of the night? 

“I really need to think these things through better,” he muttered to himself and then yawned.  The door down the hall let out a faint screech, metal scraping against metal as it was shoved open, and Sokka jumped back, hiding around the corner. Which was stupid.  He had no reason to hide; he had every reason to be wherever he wanted on the ship.  He just…he didn’t want Zuko to think he was being clingy.  Which he definitely wasn’t.  Except…

Peering around the wall, he saw Jet coming out of Zuko’s room.  Jet…in Zuko’s room…Jet had a glower on his face, glaring down at the floor, and his clothes were messed up like he’d hastily thrown them on.  He hadn’t even taken the time to properly fasten his shirt back, Sokka noticed.  A sinking feeling grew in his stomach.

Oh dear Yue, no. 

Zuko wouldn’t be _that_ stupid.  He couldn’t.  He made a lot of dumb choices, sure, but…Jet had been treating him like trash.  Jet had _literally_ called him filth, although…that hadn’t been to his face, had it?  Yue, why?

In the hall, the Freedom Fighter closed the door behind him – quieter than he’d opened it – and turned and walked down the hallway, away from Sokka, stomping away even angrier than he’d been yesterday.  Or the day before.  Whenever.

Sokka pulled his head back around the corner and leaned back against the wall, his heart thumping in his chest.  He hadn’t seen that.  Nope.  He was dreaming.  He was going to go back to bed, and wake up in the morning, and this would all have been some elaborate dream that he would laugh about in the morning.

Because Zuko could not – _absolutely could not_ – have been stupid enough to have slept with Jet again.


	26. Notes

So quick note:  I accidentally posted the last chapter twice, and then accidentally deleted the wrong version of it.  So for my comments that I had gotten so far:  I'm really sorry.  I read them and was planning to respond to them, but now they're gone.  >.<

I'm going to delete this note soon, but if you do want a response, you can repost on the last chapter, and I will.  


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